Court returns case file, reinvestigates OceanBank Ha Van Tham case

On the afternoon of March 8, after more than an hour of consultation on the request of the representative of the People's Procuracy to return the investigation file for additional investigation into the case of violations at Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the presiding judge Tran Nam Ha issued a notice of approval.

The presiding judge said that based on the nearly 10-day interrogation process and documents and evidence, the court found it necessary to clarify many contents according to the defendants' statements. Specifically, with defendant Nguyen Xuan Son (former General Director of OceanBank), the prosecution for the crime of Intentionally violating the State's regulations on economic management was not accurate, it was necessary to clarify the crime.

Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) is a shareholder and strategic partner with a capital contribution of 20% (equivalent to 800 billion VND) in this bank and when violations occurred here, PVN lost the above amount of money, it is necessary to clarify Mr. Son's responsibility. Other people involved in investing, contributing capital and managing the use of this money also need to be investigated for violations...

In 2011-2014, thousands of individuals and hundreds of organizations received interest-free payments from OceanBank, including many large customers who were economic organizations. The court found signs of collusion to keep this amount off the books for illegal profit. The court believes that it is necessary to clarify the actions of those involved and thereby have a basis for more accurate handling of the defendants' violations...

Former Chairman of the Board of Directors of OceanBank Ha Van Tham. Photo: Giang Huy

According to the prosecution's accusation, Mr. Ha Van Tham, in his position as Chairman of the Board of Directors of OceanBank, directed and, together with Nguyen Van Hoan (former Deputy General Director of OceanBank), arranged for Mr. Pham Cong Danh (former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Vietnam Construction Bank) to borrow through Trung Dung Company, while this company did not meet the loan conditions and did not have collateral, causing OceanBank to lose more than 340 billion VND (principal).

To mobilize capital from the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) to deposit in OceanBank, Mr. Tham discussed with Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son (former General Director of OceanBank) the policy of collecting additional credit interest rates and exchange rate differences in the form of signing service contracts to “collect fees” from customers… leading to a loss of nearly 70 billion VND. With the above accusation, Mr. Tham and Son were charged with the crime of “Abusing positions and powers while performing official duties”.

At the end of 2010, when he became Deputy General Director of PVN, Mr. Son introduced Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh Thu to Mr. Tham for promotion to General Director of OceanBank. Mr. Tham agreed and issued a policy on paying interest on capital mobilization outside the contract to customers. Ms. Thu, her deputy Le Thi Thu Thuy and a number of other officials implemented this policy, causing OceanBank to lose nearly 1,600 billion VND. The defendants Tham, Son, Thu and Thuy, along with 43 other officials, were accused of intentionally violating State regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences.

Former General Director of OceanBank Nguyen Xuan Son. Photo: Giang Huy

On February 27, the Hanoi People's Court opened the first-instance trial of Mr. Tham and 47 accomplices prosecuted for the crimes of Violating regulations on lending in the operations of credit institutions; Abusing positions and powers while performing official duties; Intentionally violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.

The court plans to invite about 500 people with related rights and obligations, extending the trial to nearly a month. During the past several days of questioning, Mr. Tham agreed with many of the accused contents. Some other defendants did not admit./.

According to VNE