Mr. Dinh La Thang appeared in court during the appeal hearing.

On the morning of June 19, the trial is scheduled to open under the direction of senior judge Nguyen Vinh Quang. Mr. Dinh La Thang has 4 defense lawyers.The appeal hearing is expected to last until June 25.

Mr. Ha Van Tham (former Chairman of Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Oceanbank) was summoned by the High People's Court in Hanoi as a witness. Mr. Tham was sentenced to life in prison in the case of intentional wrongdoing at Oceanbank due to being accused of making policies and directing illegal interest payments of more than 1,500 billion VND.

According to the first instance judgment,Since September 2008, Mr. Dinh La Thang has directed and decided to let this group invest capital in Oceanbank. He clearly knows the weak capacity of Oceanbank, knows that according to legal regulations, when wanting to invest capital to become a strategic shareholder of this credit institution, he must report to request the policy and get the Prime Minister's approval, but intentionally did not do so and directed his subordinates to violate the State's regulations.

The defendants 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), 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 contributed capital was lost. The cause of the 800 billion VND loss, according to the authorities, was due to illegal acts by Mr. Dinh La Thang and his accomplices.

The Hanoi People's Court believes that there is sufficient basis to conclude that Mr. Dinh La Thang has the highest authority at PVN, is responsible for managing, preserving and developing capital assigned by the State, but has directed and decided to contribute capital to Oceanbank in violation of the law.

The Hanoi People's Court sentenced Mr. Thang to 18 years in prison for intentionally violating state regulations on economic management (Article 165 of the 1999 Penal Code) and ordered him to compensate PVN more than 600 billion VND.

The remaining six received sentences ranging from 15 months of non-custodial reform to 7 years in prison for the same crime. Mr. Ninh Van Quynh was also accused of appropriating money from Oceanbank through Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son, so the court of first instance sentenced him to 16 years in prison for the crime of Abusing power to appropriate property.

After the first instance court issued its verdict, all seven of the above mentioned people appealed. Mr. Dinh La Thang appealed the entire first instance verdict and requested the High People's Court in Hanoi to review his charges, punishment and civil liability.

Mr. Thang said that the first instance judgment did not consider the context in which PVN decided to invest in OceanBank as a solution to the consequences of not being allowed to establish Hong Viet Commercial Joint Stock Bank. He was not responsible for the amount of money PVN lost, so the first instance judgment that he was forced to pay compensation of more than 600 billion VND was incorrect.

The remaining six defendants also appealed, asking the appellate court to consider the cause and circumstances of the crime to reduce the level of punishment as well as the level of civil compensation.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son also requested the High People's Court in Hanoi to consider and accept his testimony that he gave defendant Ninh Van Quynh 180 billion VND to "take care of PVN's customer on behalf of Oceanbank". According to Mr. Son, the first instance court's conclusion that Mr. Quynh received 20 billion VND from him for personal use is incorrect.