At 8:10 this morning, in a black suit, defendant Pham Thanh Binh, former chairman of the Board of Directors of Vinashin, was brought to the courtroom of the Hai Phong People's Court. The first instance trial is scheduled to last 4 days.

From early morning, the defendant's family members were present in large numbers in front of the gate of the City People's Court. The trial was held publicly, chaired by Judge Tran Van Nghiem, Chief of the Economic Court. Domestic and foreign reporters were arranged in separate rooms to watch on TV screens.

At 8:10 a.m., the defendants were escorted to the dock by the police. When they saw their relatives, some defendants waved goodbye. Former Vinashin Chairman Pham Thanh Binh, in a black suit, walked into the room with a calm expression.

At 9:30 a.m., the representative of the Procuracy read the indictment against 9 defendants Pham Thanh Binh - former Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Vinashin Group and the defendants: Tran Van Liem, Nguyen Van Tuyen, Nguyen Tuan Duong, To Nghiem, Trinh Thi Hau, Hoang Gia Hiep, Tran Quang Vu, Do Dinh Con for the act of abusing their positions and powers to intentionally violate State regulations on economic management in the fields of investment, management and use of capital.

In the first instance trial, defendant Pham Thanh Binh invited 3 lawyers; Tran Quang Vu invited 5 lawyers; Trinh Thi Hau invited 5 lawyers... However, today many people were absent.

According to the prosecution, the total damage caused by the defendants' criminal acts in the case was more than 900 billion VND. Specifically, in the Hoa Sen ship purchase deal, the authorities said that due to the incomplete infrastructure survey, the wharf system did not meet the needs of the ship, forcing the construction of some additional items. However, this ship worth tens of millions of euros did not operate effectively, stopping after 39 trips, causing a loss of nearly 470 billion VND.

The prosecution agency alleged that the cause of the incident was due to the investment in purchasing the Hoa Sen ship not following the correct investment process and procedures, not preparing a final settlement report of the completed investment project to submit to the competent authority for approval... In which, the defendant Pham Thanh Binh played the role of organizer, Tran Van Liem, Ho Ngoc Tung, Giang Kim Dat, Trinh Thi Hau and Hoang Gia Hiep were accomplices in committing the crime.

Authorities also said that due to ineffective investment and management of the Cai Lan Diesel Thermal Power Plant project, from 2007 to 2009, the operation caused a loss of tens of billions of VND, after which it had to stop operations. Similarly, at the Song Hong Thermal Power Plant construction project (Nam Dinh), the state also suffered a loss of more than 300 billion VND; the Binh Dinh Star ship investment project caused a loss of 30 billion VND and the sale of the Bach Dang Giang ship hull caused a loss of more than 27 billion VND.

According to the prosecution, Mr. Pham Thanh Binh is the person with the highest position and is also the main defendant, playing the role of organizing the crime. The other defendants are accomplices of Mr. Binh, committing crimes in independent cases, accomplices in groups... but all took advantage of their positions and powers to intentionally violate the State's regulations on economic management of the Vinashin Group.

In this case, there are two other defendants who are on the run and wanted: Ho Ngoc Tung (former general director of Ship Technology Finance Company Limited) and Giang Kim Dat (34 years old, former head of the business department of Vinashin Ocean Transport Company).

According to Express