SeABank was asked to pay a guarantee of 150 billion VND

On November 28, Vinaconex - Viettel Finance Joint Stock Company (VVF) held a press conference about being denied responsibility by Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) regarding the VND150 billion bond guarantee case.

In October 2011, SeABank had a letter of guarantee (no number) to guarantee the issuance of bonds for Vina Megastar Group Joint Stock Company, signed and issued by Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Giang - former Deputy General Director and Director of SeABank Hai Ba Trung (Hanoi).

On April 28, 2012, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Giang was dismissed from her position by SeABank. Meanwhile, Vina Megastar's bonds had matured but the company still failed to pay both principal and interest to VVF. Based on the guarantee letter signed by Ms. Giang, VVF requested SeABank to fulfill its obligations as a guarantor, paying the principal and interest of the 150 billion VND of Vina Megastar's bonds.

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However, SeABank refused to pay because it considered this certificate illegal. According to SeABank's current management records related to the guarantee certificate signed by Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Giang, the bank did not have a guarantee request file and a guarantee contract with Vina Megastar, the guarantee transaction for Vina Megastar Group did not exist in SeABank's management system. Ms. Giang took advantage of her position and authority to sign and issue a corporate bond guarantee certificate beyond her authority for VVF, so this guarantee certificate is invalid.

SeABank also affirmed that this was a personal violation of Ms. Giang and "SeABank is not responsible for fulfilling its obligations regarding this illegal guarantee certificate". SeABank added that during her time as deputy general director, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Giang signed many guarantee certificates beyond her authority and without following proper procedures for 7 other enterprises in the northern provinces...

Many related “victims” have sent letters of complaint to the investigation agency, but VVF’s response was different. At the press conference, VVF’s lawyer said that “we are not specifically concerned with the responsibility of any individual, but the problem is the legal responsibility, that is, SeaBank”. VVF also said that all legal evidence is in support of VVF, but will negotiate to find a peaceful solution, not causing tension because the dispute can have a negative impact on the general situation of the financial and banking market. VVF also said that in this guarantee case, a deputy general director of SeABank played the role of broker.

Currently, the Investigation Police Agency for Economic and Official Order Crimes - Hanoi City Police has accepted the case file to clarify the violations of Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Giang during her tenure at SeABank.

According to Datviet-M