Former deputy marketing manager of Agribank escaped the death penalty by changing embezzlement to theft

With the amount of money embezzled being more than 20 billion VND, if it was embezzlement, the defendant would face the death penalty, but thanks to changing the crime to theft, he only received a life sentence.

On June 23, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court reopened the first-instance trial and sentenced Nguyen Thanh Nhan, former deputy head of marketing at Agribank Binh Thanh Branch, to life in prison for theft.

Notably, Nhan was initially prosecuted and tried for embezzlement, with the maximum penalty being the death penalty. Why was Nhan's charge re-determined?

Take 20 billion to gamble

According to the records, from the end of 2011, under the direction of Nhan, despite not having approval documents from the leaders, the cashier still handed over money for Nhan to transport from the warehouse to the ATM. This process was not witnessed by the branch leaders, and the money boxes were not sealed. Taking advantage of the leniency and irresponsibility of the branch leaders, Nhan opened the money boxes many times and embezzled a total of 20.3 billion VND.

With money, Nhan rented a car to go to Cambodia to gamble. Nhan confessed that he had lost all the money he had embezzled from the bank in Cambodia. After that, Nhan was temporarily detained and prosecuted for embezzlement.

In September 2015, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court opened a first-instance trial against Nhan for the above-mentioned crime. At this trial, the defendants, officers of Agribank Binh Thanh Branch, all admitted that if the correct procedures had been followed, Nhan would not have been able to get the money.

Finally, the court returned the case for further investigation to clarify a number of issues. The key issue is whether Nhan was authorized to participate in the ATM Management Board in 2009 before Agribank Binh Thanh Branch officially decided to establish the ATM Management Board in August 2012.

Defendant Nguyen Thanh Nhan after the trial. Photo: HOANG YEN

After reinvestigation, in early 2016, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court reopened the trial. Nhan's defense lawyers requested the panel of judges to change Nhan's charge to theft of property.

The reason given by the lawyers is that at the time of the crime, Nhan was not officially decided to be a member of the ATM Management Board but was only an employee of the capital planning department. Thus, he secretly took the money when no one was managing it. Specifically, Nhan was not the person who managed the ATM cash, but Nhan was only a technical staff member, whose assigned task was to keep the technical keys of four ATMs to handle incidents.

And once again, the court returned the case to the prosecutor.

From embezzlement to theft

After further investigation, the People's Procuracy determined that Nhan had been an employee of the capital planning department at Agribank Binh Thanh Branch since 2005. In December 2009, this branch established an ATM Management Board with three members. Then, two members authorized Do Huu Khuong (former deputy head of the treasury accounting department) and Nhan to be members of the Management Board. However, this authorization was not accepted by the director. It was not until August 2012 that the bank's leadership officially decided to allow Khuong and Nhan to join the ATM Management Board.

According to the People's Procuracy, although the regulations related to management and replenishment of funds for ATMs are very strict, the ATM Management Board of Binh Thanh Branch did not follow the correct procedures and let Nhan do it himself. Specifically, Nhan estimated which ATM was running out of money and needed to replenish funds, then called the cashier to pay. When paying, the cashier did not require accounting documents or approved requests for replenishment of funds, nor did he make internal cash receipts and disbursements, but let Nhan deposit money into the cash boxes himself.

Other members of the ATM Management Board mostly did not participate, did not seal the money boxes, did not participate in transporting and escorting. The money boxes of the old cycle when brought from the ATM to the treasury were not counted, no fund counting minutes were made, and the fund balance was not reconciled for a long time.

Taking advantage of that loophole, since the end of 2011, Nhan has appropriated more than 20 billion VND from Agribank Binh Thanh Branch. This act has satisfied the signs of the crime of theft of property. For the above reasons, the People's Procuracy decided to change the charge from embezzlement to theft of property and prosecute Nhan in court.

At the trial on June 23, the panel of judges agreed with the prosecutor in determining the amount of money Nhan stole as well as the new charges. From there, the court sentenced Nhan to life in prison.

In addition, when Nhan was changed to theft, the charges against the two defendants involved were also re-determined, from intentional wrongdoing to negligence causing serious consequences (three other defendants also committed the same crime). The court sentenced these defendants from two years of suspended imprisonment to two years, four months and 21 days in prison (equal to the time spent in detention).

According to Phapluat TP. HCM