Former SJC CEO Files Handwritten 4-Page Appeal, Seeking Reconsideration of 10,800 Taels of Gold Repayment

Today, October 20th, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court announced receiving an appeal from Ms. Lê Thúy Hằng, former CEO of SJC. The handwritten appeal, spanning four pages, was submitted from her temporary detention facility.

In her appeal, Ms. Hằng requests the appellate court to reduce her sentence, allowing her to return home to care for her elderly parents and contribute to society in her remaining years.

The appeal also highlights her family’s revolutionary background, her own achievements as an outstanding laborer, and her extensive involvement in charitable activities.

Ms. Hằng further appeals the first-instance court’s decision requiring her to return over 10,800 taels of gold to the state treasury. She asserts her inability to comply and clarifies that neither she nor her co-defendants used the raw gold for illegal production. Instead, the gold represents accumulated materials from multiple transactions.

Additionally, Ms. Hằng addresses accusations of directing subordinates to purchase external raw gold for 56 batches of deformed gold processing for the State Bank of Vietnam. This allegedly resulted in the illegal production of 6,255 taels of SJC gold bars and over 11,503 taels of SJC gold rings. Each batch yielded 100 taels of illegal SJC gold bars sold on the market. Profits from the price difference were reinvested in raw materials for subsequent batches until the 56th cycle.

Regarding the illegal gold rings, Ms. Hằng explains that Trần Tấn Phát (Deputy Director of the Tân Thuận Jewelry Workshop) produced 30 to 40 taels per batch for Nguyễn Thị Huệ (Director of SJC’s Hai Phong branch). These were sold, with proceeds reinvested in raw materials for the next cycle. The total 11,503 taels of illegal gold rings represent the cumulative output of multiple production runs.

In the first-instance verdict issued by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on September 30th, Ms. Lê Thúy Hằng was sentenced to 25 years in prison for two charges: “Embezzlement” and “Abuse of Power.” The 15 co-defendants received sentences ranging from two years’ probation to 22 years and six months’ imprisonment for their roles as accomplices.

The court also ordered Ms. Hằng to compensate SJC over 14 billion VND, return 73 billion VND, 5,411 taels of SJC gold bars, and 5,410 taels of gold rings to the state treasury. The 45 billion VND she previously paid to mitigate damages remains under temporary seizure.

Ms. Lê Thúy Hằng and her accomplices caused the state over 107 billion VND in losses. This includes 11.6 billion VND from asset misappropriation and 95.8 billion VND from illegal gains and regulatory violations.