On June 19, the court considered Mr. Dinh La Thang's appeal.

As planned, the appeal hearing of the case of violations at the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) will be opened by the High People's Court in Hanoi on June 19, chaired by Judge Nguyen Vinh Quang.

Mr. Dinh La Thang has 4 lawyers to protect his legal rights and interests.

According to the first instance verdict announced 3 months ago, since September 2008, Mr. Dinh La Thang directed and decided to let the group invest capital in Oceanbank. Mr. Thang clearly knew the weak capacity of Oceanbank, and knew that according to legal regulations, when wanting to invest capital to become a strategic shareholder of this credit institution, he had to report to the Prime Minister for approval and get approval. However, the former chairman of PVN intentionally did not comply and directed his subordinates to violate the State's regulations.

Mr. Vu Khanh Truong, Nguyen Thanh Liem, Nguyen Xuan Thang, Phan Dinh Duc, who were then members of the PVN Board of Members, along with Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son (Deputy General Director), and Ninh Van Quynh (Chief Accountant), were determined to have carried out Mr. Thang's instructions and policies.

Because Oceanbank committed many violations and was bought by the State Bank for 0 VND in mid-2015, 800 billion VND of PVN's capital contribution was lost. The cause of the 800 billion VND loss, according to the authorities, was due to illegal acts by Mr. Thang and his accomplices.

The court of first instance sentenced Mr. Thang to 18 years in prison for the crime.intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences(Article 165, Penal Code 1999) and forced to pay compensation of 600 billion VND.

The defendants Son, Truong, Liem, Duc, and Thang received sentences ranging from 15 months of non-custodial reform to five years in prison for the same crime. Mr. Quynh was sentenced to seven years in prison under Article 165 and 16 years for the crime of Abusing position and power to appropriate property (Article 280 of the 1999 Penal Code). These six defendants must share in compensating PVN for VND200 billion in damages.

After the above verdict, he appealed to review the charges, punishment and civil liability. The remaining defendants asked for a reduction in punishment and exemption from civil liability.

>>Why did PVN lose 800 billion VND when investing in OceanBank?