Inviting Relatives and Former Clients to Deposit Funds for Commission
On the morning of January 7th, the trial of defendant Vũ Thị Thu Nhung (former Deputy Director of Eximbank’s Ba Đình branch), accused of embezzling 2.705 trillion VND from customers, continued with the debate phase.
During previous questioning, defendant Nhung responded briefly, admitting to the fraud and embezzlement charges as stated in the indictment.
The trial panel focused less on questioning Nhung and more on interrogating related parties and victims.
In court, Nguyễn Thị Hồng (accused of acting as an intermediary, transferring funds from victims to Nhung and receiving principal and interest from Nhung to return to victims) stated that due to her acquaintance with Nhung, she was asked to find customers to deposit money into Eximbank for interest. Hồng invited several relatives, including her own mother.
Hồng later discovered Nhung’s fraudulent activities and had to sell her house to repay those she had encouraged to deposit funds.
“I am also a victim in this case, completely deceived. If I had known, I wouldn’t have entrusted money to Nhung… I work in a company and often visited the bank, which is how I met Nhung. Later, Nhung, needing to meet sales targets, asked me to find individuals with funds to deposit,” Hồng explained, adding that she herself had deposited 5 billion VND.
Regarding allegations of retaining a portion of the interest, principal, and commission after Nhung transferred funds to customers, Hồng claimed she couldn’t recall due to the passage of time. Meanwhile, several customers in the courtroom accused Hồng of being Nhung’s accomplice.
Another related party, Vũ Thị Thu Hồng, a former bank employee, stated that she trusted Nhung due to her position as Deputy Director of Eximbank’s branch. Most of the individuals she invited to deposit funds were former customers and close acquaintances.
“During the victims’ deposit period, did Nhung, through you as an intermediary, promise commissions for each customer?” the presiding judge asked. Vũ Thị Thu Hồng replied that commissions were typically 5–8%, with her relatives receiving 8–10%.
“This was a private agreement between Nhung and me, separate from any agreements with customers,” Vũ Thị Thu Hồng added.
Regarding the accusation of retaining over 7.2 billion VND from customers, Vũ Thị Thu Hồng denied keeping any funds, stating they were transferred to customers.
“Do you acknowledge the 900 million VND in profits?” the judge inquired. Vũ Thị Thu Hồng confirmed, explaining that a portion was redeposited into the bank, while nearly 300 million VND was used for customer gifts.
“Over time, I’ve lost money, my career, and reputation. I’m working to rectify what I can… I deposited over 700 million VND with Nhung, recovered some, but my greatest loss is my career,” Vũ Thị Thu Hồng lamented.
Defendant Vũ Thị Thu Nhung.
Victims Seek Return of Principal
According to Tiền Phong’s report, several related parties were absent today. Meanwhile, victims present in court expressed frustration, demanding that intermediaries like Hồng take responsibility for the embezzled funds.
Victims sought the return of their principal without claiming interest, with losses ranging from hundreds of millions to tens of billions of VND.
The case had previously seen the court return the file multiple times, requesting further investigation into Nhung’s accomplices. However, the investigation results remained largely unchanged.
Some lawyers suggested summoning Eximbank to court, arguing the bank should be held accountable for customers’ embezzled funds.
Case files reveal that from 2014, Nhung, needing funds to repay debts and for personal expenses, falsely claimed that Eximbank’s Ba Đình branch offered preferential deposit programs for internal bank-related customers with high-interest rates and valuable gifts. This scheme aimed to attract individuals seeking savings deposits.
Nhung’s programs included: Flexible-term time deposit certificates for priority customers at Eximbank with a 7.5%/year interest rate and monthly care gifts; Custodial cash term deposit certificates; Bank bonds with terms ranging from 12–32%/year.
To receive customer funds, Nhung opened multiple accounts at Eximbank and other banks. Upon receiving deposits, she fabricated confirmation receipts using a printer, stamping them with Eximbank’s Ba Đình branch seal before providing them to customers.
Additionally, Nhung embezzled large sums by falsely claiming Eximbank’s Ba Đình branch was auctioning non-performing assets.
She deceived customers into depositing funds into a “shell company” account for auction participation, promising high returns of 10–14% within 5–20 days. Trusting her, many deposited savings and investment funds for the auction.
After receiving funds, Nhung failed to fulfill her promises, using most of the money to pay principal, interest, and gifts to customers or profits to earlier depositors.
Prosecutors allege Nhung used funds from later depositors to pay earlier ones, embezzling the remainder for personal use.
From 2014 to 2022, Vũ Thị Thu Nhung defrauded 100 victims of over 2.705 trillion VND.
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