The illegal business practices of "Chairman Kien"

Nguyen Duc Kien established three companies with registered business functions unrelated to financial investment, but he used the legal entities of these companies to participate in bond issuance and financial investments (including the purchase of bank shares) in violation of regulations.

According to an announcement by the investigative police agency of the Ministry of Public Security, the indictment and temporary detention of Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien for "illegal business activities" stems from the determination that he committed several violations of the law at three companies: B&B Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company, ACB Hanoi Investment Joint Stock Company, and Asia Financial Investment Limited Company. It is known that these companies were all established by Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien with substantial registered capital.

According to its business license, the building at 57B Phan Chu Trinh (Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi) houses the offices of ACB Hanoi Investment Joint Stock Company and Asia Financial Investment Company Limited - Photo: Nguyen Khanh.

Three companies were established with a registered capital of 2,300 billion VND.

According to the business registration certificate issued by the Department of Planning and Investment, B&B Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company has its business headquarters at 63 Luong Su C Street, Van Chuong Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi, with a charter capital of 1,500 billion VND. The company registered its business on December 8, 2008.

The company's registered business activities include advertising and market research; trading in gold, silver, and precious stones (excluding import and export of raw gold); civil and industrial construction, housing construction, and warehouse and parking lot construction. The company has three founding shareholders: Ms. Nguyen Thuy Huong, Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien, and Ms. Dang Ngoc Lan. Mr. Kien contributed 990 billion VND (66%) and serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

On March 21, 2008, Mr. Kien established Asia Financial Investment Company Limited with a capital of 500 billion VND contributed by two members: Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien (holding 99% of the capital) and Ms. Nguyen Thuy Huong. The company's head office is located at 57B Phan Chu Trinh Street, Phan Chu Trinh Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi.

According to the business registration certificate reissued by the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment on March 12, 2012, the 10 registered business sectors include: hotel and restaurant business; golf course construction and operation; transportation, bridge and road, civil and industrial construction; management of tangible and intangible assets of enterprises; foreign exchange agency; import and export of gold jewelry; buying and selling gold, silver and precious stones...

On November 10, 2006, Mr. Kien established ACB Hanoi Investment Joint Stock Company, headquartered at 57B Phan Chu Trinh, Hanoi, with a charter capital of 300 billion VND contributed by three shareholders: Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien, Mr. Huynh Van Son, and Mr. Tran Ngoc Thanh. Mr. Kien himself contributed 70% of the capital and held the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors.

This company, headed by Mr. Tran Ngoc Thanh, operates in eight business sectors, including investment in and operation of sports complexes, golf courses, tennis courts, and swimming pools; investment in and operation of tourist areas, hotels, restaurants, and guesthouses; gold trading; real estate management; and real estate brokerage and auction services.

Thus, the total registered capital of these three companies amounts to 2,300 billion VND, all under the operational direction of Mr. Kien.

Creating a fictitious business plan to borrow money.

Although none of the three aforementioned companies had the function of financial investment, Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien still used their legal entities to participate in the financial sector. With their enormous registered capital and his reputation in the financial and banking sector, Mr. Kien built the image of economically strong companies with high business efficiency.

From there, Mr. Kien devised large-scale business plans to increase the company's asset value and build financial credibility. Currently, investigators suspect that these business plans were all "fictitious" schemes created to gain the trust of customers and banks when investing in Mr. Kien's company, as well as for Mr. Kien to use in illegal financial investments.

After building the image and reputation of the companies he created, in 2008 and 2010, Mr. Kien repeatedly issued bonds of these companies, selling them to banks and earning hundreds of billions of dong. He then gave this money to family members to buy shares in other banks. After acquiring these shares, Mr. Kien used them as collateral to borrow money from the banks from which he had sold the bonds, using the money to repay the banks and for other personal purposes.

Investigators suspect that the money Mr. Kien borrowed from banks in the manner described above amounts to trillions of VND. This activity has been identified as "illegal business" because the companies Mr. Kien established did not have the function of conducting business or financial investment.

According to TTO-M