A group of bank officials embezzled over 17 billion VND to repay high-interest loans.
A deputy head of department at Saigon Thuong Tin Bank (Sacombank) embezzled over 17 billion VND from the bank to repay high-interest loans from outside sources.
The department head borrows money from outside sources to pay off employee debts.
The Investigation Police Department of Khanh Hoa province has just issued its investigation conclusion, recommending the prosecution of a group of Sacombank Cam Ranh officials for the crime of "Embezzlement of assets and negligence resulting in serious consequences."
Specifically, the defendants being prosecuted all previously worked at Sacombank Cam Ranh, including Vo Viet Luan (former Deputy Director of Sacombank Khanh Hoa, also Head of Sacombank Cam Ranh Branch), Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha (former Deputy Head of Transaction Department), Ngo Thi Hong Nhan (former cashier), Nguyen Tra My and Ngo Nu Hong Hai (both former tellers at Sacombank Cam Ranh).
Mr. Luan was prosecuted for "Negligence causing serious consequences," while the remaining defendants were prosecuted for "Embezzlement of assets."
The investigation concluded that Luan colluded with and concealed Ha's violations of banking regulations, using customers' payment and savings account information at Sacombank Cam Ranh to create fraudulent documents and withdraw money from the bank for personal gain.
Specifically, on April 15, 2022, Ha instructed tellers and cashiers to create fictitious documents to deposit cash into the accounts of several customers even though no customers were present (the cashiers did not receive the cash) and to disburse money directly to customers (these customers had lent Ha money for Ha and Luan's personal purposes).
At the end of the day, Ha failed to raise the required funds according to the prepared documents, resulting in a cash deficit of 6.59 billion VND at the closing date. Ha and Nhan reported this to Luan, but Luan did not report it to his superiors and instructed them to keep it confidential to handle it themselves. Later, Ha informed Luan that the 6.59 billion VND deficit was related to the Nhat Tung Group of Companies, so Luan contacted Mr. Nguyen Cong Tung to borrow money from outside sources to cover the deficit.
Therefore, Luan and Tung agreed to borrow a total of 6 billion VND from Mr. Tran Huu Phuc and Mr. and Mrs. Pham Duc Duong. Luan signed the loan agreement, and Tung was responsible for repaying the debt. On April 18, 2022, the entire amount borrowed by Luan was transferred to Ha for processing. The remaining 590 million VND was offset by Ha herself against withdrawal transactions from the group of customers who had lent her money. In 2022, Ha and her accomplices continued to create and sign fraudulent documents to settle credit and savings card accounts in order to embezzle money from Sacombank.
Embezzling money from the bank to pay off high-interest loans.
According to the Investigation Police Department of Khanh Hoa province, although Luan did not directly sign the fraudulent documents, in his role as Deputy Branch Director and Head of Transaction Department, Luan failed to properly perform his assigned duties. In addition, Luan requested Ha to raise funds for personal purposes, leading to a deficit in Sacombank's cash reserves. Luan did not report the entire incident to his superiors, did not take any preventative measures, and even facilitated Ha's actions, causing serious damage to Sacombank totaling 17.3 billion VND.
During the investigation, defendant Ha confessed to using a total of over 17 billion VND to repay debts to individuals in a group of 21 clients who had lent her money for business operations and to repay loans of the Nhat Tung group (including Nhat Tung Company and individuals related to this company). Defendants Nhan, My, and Hai confessed to acting on Ha's instructions, without personal motives, and not benefiting from Ha's wrongdoing.