The tragedy of a broken savings association in the rice-growing countryside of Nghe An
(Baonghean) - Since the death of a male teacher in Khanh Thanh commune, a series of other hui and black credit owners suddenly declared bankruptcy and were no longer able to pay, causing thousands of people in Yen Thanh district to be confused and devastated...
Disturbing countryside
Early one morning in early October 2016, relatives were shocked to discover teacher Nguyen Huu V. (38 years old, Khanh Thanh commune, Yen Thanh) dead, hanging in front of his house. Teacher V. was a teacher at an elementary school at that time.
But for many years, this male teacher has also been known as a ward chief, part of a black credit network. “He receives deposits from people and at the same time lends money to others to enjoy the difference,” said Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan (Khanh Thanh commune).
Before committing suicide, teacher V. owed the people here nearly one billion VND. In his suicide note, the male teacher said that due to the high interest rate, he tried to pay it off but over the past few years it still hasn't paid off. "The debt, the borrowing, my wife and children don't know, it's all my fault. It has nothing to do with my parents, my wife and children," is a part of the suicide note that teacher V. posted on Facebook before committing suicide.
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| The house of a hui owner in Khanh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) was surrounded by people. Photo: Tien Hung |
Because of Mr. V.'s suicide, many people who had sent money to the owner of this ward had to accept the loss, not knowing who to ask for help from. But since the death of this male teacher, a series of other hui and black credit ward owners in Yen Thanh district have also declared bankruptcy, unable to pay.
The cases of broken hui groups are often concentrated in the southern communes of Yen Thanh district such as Bao Thanh, Son Thanh, Cong Thanh, Khanh Thanh... At its peak, within just 10 months, from January to October 2018, Yen Thanh district police received and investigated 20 hui groups.
During this period, Yen Thanh police received about 50 complaints related to the hui. However, no individual was prosecuted. The cases were transferred to civil proceedings. Meanwhile, before declaring bankruptcy, the hui owners were said to have disposed of their assets. Therefore, people had to bear with the fact that the parties involved "no longer had the ability to pay".
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| Mr. Le Anh Dao (left) said that he will continue to file complaints to get his money back. Photo: Tien Hung |
Over the past three years, thousands of households in Yen Thanh have been devastated by the sudden declaration of bankruptcy by the hui owner. The victims are mainly small traders or those whose relatives are abroad; concentrated in market areas, along National Highway 7A in the communes of Bao Thanh, Cong Thanh, and Khanh Thanh.
Since the death of the teacher in Khanh Thanh, the debt was ignored and no one pursued it anymore. Therefore, the owners of the new savings and credit association declared bankruptcy one after another, in order to “dodge” our money.
Bao Thanh is the commune with the largest number of people participating in the hui. Business here is developing, while many people go abroad, so the amount of idle money is very large. Instead of depositing in the bank, because of the interest rate, people often deposit black credit or join the hui.
“There are some who really went bankrupt, because they borrowed from one person and then lent to another. But the debtor then ran away and could not get it back. But there are also many people who took advantage of the storm of bankruptcy to disperse assets and declare bankruptcy to seize them.”
People are tired of debt collection
In early July 2019, Mr. Le Anh Dao (63 years old, Son Thanh commune) prepared a thick pile of documents to file a complaint. In the past 2 years, Mr. Dao has sent dozens of petitions and met with many authorities, but so far he has not been able to retrieve the money he deposited in the "credit fund".
For over 5 years now, this gold and silver enterprise has been producing its own “savings books” and mobilizing capital from hundreds of households in the area. After each time it mobilizes money from the people, the enterprise gives them a “savings book”.
Many people could not keep calm and wanted to go and destroy things, but we were determined to stop them. We have to demand justice in other ways. I am preparing to go to Hanoi to continue submitting petitions. I believe the law will be fair.
This book looks very similar to a savings book issued by a bank. The book also has the seal of Phuc Nhien Gold and Silver Private Enterprise. At first, this enterprise paid them interest regularly. Many families trusted it, and while they did not need the money, they continued to use the interest to deposit more. However, by the end of 2016, people began to receive information that this enterprise was "bankrupt".
The incident dragged on for a long time, hundreds of households regularly went to the gold shop owner’s wife’s house to demand money as well as to the authorities to request intervention. There were many times when fights broke out between the residents and the business owner.
According to the reporter's investigation, the amount of money that this enterprise is accused of embezzling is up to 30 billion VND. Currently, the assets of the Phuc Nhien enterprise owners such as cars and many houses and lands have been transferred to other owners. However, this couple still lives in this spacious house and travels by car registered in someone else's name.
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| While hundreds of people are in dire straits, this gold shop owner still lives a lavish life in a villa with a luxury car. Photo: Tien Hung |
The entire amount of more than 130 million VND that Mr. Le Anh Dao deposited in this enterprise did not belong to his family. It was the money that his brothers and sisters saved and sent back to him to build a house for a younger sister. Mr. Dao has a disabled younger sister who has no family.
“One of my younger siblings is overseas, another is in the South and sent money back to help build a house for her. Because at that time the plan was not to build it yet, and the money was useless, so when the gold shop owner persuaded me to deposit it there. Now I have lost the money, and she has declared bankruptcy but still lives in a villa, drives a luxury car, and has not been punished,” Mr. Dao said in frustration.
According to statistics from Bao Thanh Commune Police, in the past 3 years alone, there have been nearly 10 cases of broken savings and loan associations and black credit involving hundreds of billions of dong. Having worked as the commune police chief for more than 10 years, and now the Chief of Office of Bao Thanh Commune People's Committee, this commune is like a center of savings and loan associations in Yen Thanh.
Mr. Vo Trong Nguyen said
Naming the names of the owners of the hui and black credit clubs that have collapsed, some of whom have now fled abroad, Mr. Nguyen said that the situation of hui and black credit clubs collapsing continuously began to occur around the beginning of 2016. In the area at the gate of Bong market alone, there were 3 houses that were owners of hui and black credit clubs but collapsed.
Not long after Phuc Nhien gold shop declared bankruptcy, Loan Da gold shop owned by Mr. Tran Van Da, located a few dozen meters away, also suddenly announced bankruptcy. “The couple then fled abroad. The amount of money is estimated at about 30 billion VND. People now do not know who to report, while the couple still sends money back to their parents to build a house,” said Mr. Nguyen.
Some ward heads have used the previous hui collapses as an excuse to “dodge” the money from ward members for personal gain. Many ward heads even declared that they were “willing to live in disgrace or exile, even go to jail for a few years but refuse to pay the people”. Some ward heads used the hui collapse as an excuse to assign debts in the form of assets to people at “exorbitant” prices because they knew that they were afraid of losing all their money.
According to the reporter's investigation, in the past 3 years, there have been more than 30 cases of large and small hui guilds collapsing in the southern part of Yen Thanh district alone. While thousands of victims are in dire straits, filing complaints every day in the hope of getting their hard-earned money back, the hui guild owners are living a prosperous life, carefree outside the law.
