Defendant Mai Phan Loi had his sentence reduced by 3 months in the tax evasion case.
Former journalist Mai Phan Loi had his sentence reduced by 3 months to 45 months by the appellate court, after his family paid 1.2 billion VND to mitigate the consequences of being accused of tax evasion of nearly 2 billion VND.
The appellate judgment issued by the Hanoi High Court on the afternoon of August 11th stated: Of the 1.2 billion VND, 800 million VND was paid at the first-instance trial, and 400 million VND was paid during the appeal phase.
Mr. Loi needs to pay the remaining 700 million VND to fulfill his 1.9 billion VND compensation obligation.
Mr. Loi, 51 years old, a former journalist and former Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Community Education and Communication Center (MEC), was assessed by the court as having acted honestly and had many achievements during his career.
Same crimeTax evasionRegarding Mr. Loi, defendant Bach Hung Duong, 47 years old, former Director of MEC, had his sentence reduced by the court from 30 months to 27 months because he was an accomplice in a supporting role but did not benefit from the crime.
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Mr. Mai Phan Loi at the appeal hearing on the morning of August 11. Photo:Famous Landmarks |
According to the verdict announced on January 11th: In 2012, the defendant Loi, along with two others, contributed capital to establish the MEC Center. Loi held the position of Chairman of the Scientific Council, directly managing all operations. Duong served as director from 2014 to 2021.
The prosecuting authorities determined that from 2012 to 2021, MEC had revenues exceeding 19.6 billion VND, with the lowest year being over 30 million VND and the highest being over 4 billion VND.
Mr. Loi is accused of instructing Duong and other employees to withdraw cash without issuing service invoices or financial reports; failing to submit tax returns; and not implementing accounting procedures as required.
MEC is accused of evading nearly 2 billion VND in value-added tax and corporate income tax.
