What did the defendants in the stock manipulation case say in court?

On the afternoon of May 8, the Hanoi People's Court continued the first-instance trial of the case of stock market manipulation to illegally gain more than VND154 billion. The three defendants: Do Thanh Nhan (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Louis Holdings Joint Stock Company, member of the Board of Directors of Louis Capital Joint Stock Company, Louis Land Joint Stock Company), Do Duc Nam (General Director of Tri Viet Securities Joint Stock Company - TVB) and Pham Thanh Tung (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tri Viet Asset Management Group Joint Stock Company, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Tri Viet Securities Joint Stock Company) were determined to have played a major role in manipulating the stock market.

Responding to the interrogation in court, defendant Do Thanh Nhan admitted that he had discussed and agreed with defendant Do Duc Nam on the purchase of 10 million shares of code BII. “The purchase and transfer were agreed upon by the defendant and defendant Nam, to buy enough to have controlling power. Tri Viet Securities Joint Stock Company placed the purchase order, notified the time of purchase, purchase price, and purchase quantity. The defendant was only concerned with money. The source of money to purchase securities came from the loan capital of Tri Viet Asset Management Group Joint Stock Company. The collateral was the purchased shares,” defendant Nhan stated.

Defendant Do Thanh Nhan.

Also according to the defendant Nhan's testimony, in August 2021, the defendant created the Facebook group "Louis Family" for the sole purpose of exchanging information, with no intention of attracting investors to participate in buying to increase stock prices and increase liquidity, but the defendant was not aware of it, did not think it was a violation and requested the panel of judges to reconsider the defendant's role.

“The defendant was a participant but did not know that it was an act of stock price manipulation. The defendant did not know anything about stocks and had no knowledge about stocks. The purpose of opening the accounts was to buy 51% of the shares to gain control of the market,” defendant Nhan stated.

In the witness stand, defendant Do Duc Nam stated that securities accounts are used by customers and that customers are the ones who decide whether to buy or sell securities. “The defendant only provides securities services. Defendant Do Thanh Nhan is the one who decides the purchase price and time of purchase,” defendant Nam stated.

Defendant Do Duc Nam.

According to the defendant Nam's testimony, pushing up the stock price was wrong and against the law, but the defendant's purpose was nothing more than providing services to customers. In the process of lending money to the defendant Nhan's group to invest in stocks, the defendant reported to defendant Pham Thanh Tung.

Defendant Nam admitted that defendant Nhan gave him 500 million VND as a thank you. “I plead guilty, but I hope the court will consider my role. Because of business pressure, I violated the law,” defendant Nam admitted.

Presenting in court, defendant Pham Thanh Tung also admitted responsibility when the incident occurred at his company. According to Tung's testimony, the defendant was not informed about the stock manipulation. However, during the investigation of the case, the defendant actively cooperated with the investigation agency, helping the investigation agency to quickly clarify the incident.