Court sentenced Nguyen Duc Kien to 30 years in prison

After many days of deliberation, on the morning of June 9, the People's Court will sentence Nguyen Duc Kien and eight accomplices in the case of illegal business, tax evasion, fraud and property appropriation, and intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.

Overview of the trial of Mr. Kien

Specifically, the proposed sentence is 18-24 months in prison for illegal business, fined 25-30 million VND, confiscation of all illegal business proceeds. 4-5 years in prison for tax evasion, collection of over 24 billion VND, fined 2-3 times the amount of tax evasion. The court is proposed to impose 16-18 years in prison for fraud. 14-15 years in prison for intentional wrongdoing, banned from holding positions in finance and banking. The total sentence for the 4 crimes of Mr. Nguyen Duc Kien is 30 years in prison.

The other defendants were recommended sentences ranging from 3 to 14 years in prison. For Mr. Tran Xuan Gia, the case was separated so no recommendation was made.

8:00:From around 7:30 this morning, defendant Nguyen Duc Kien and his accomplices were escorted to court, awaiting sentencing.

At court, the police unlocked number 8 for Mr. Kien, defendant Kien in a white shirt.

8:15:Chief Judge Nguyen Huu Chinh, on behalf of the panel of judges, began reading the summary and conclusion of the case.

8:30:The defendants stood listening to the court conclude the case.

In the first part of the conclusion of the case, presiding judge Nguyen Huu Chinh, on behalf of the panel of judges, clearly stated the four crimes that the People's Procuracy prosecuted defendant Nguyen Duc Kien for, including: Illegal business, Tax evasion, Fraud and Intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.

Along with that, the chairman also provided solid arguments to clarify each of the above charges.

Trial documents of Mr. Kien case

Mr. Kien's accomplices include defendant Tran Ngoc Thanh, director of ACB Hanoi Investment Joint Stock Company, sentenced to 19 years in prison; Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, chief accountant of ACB Hanoi Investment Joint Stock Company, sentenced to 7-8 years in prison for "fraudulent appropriation of property".

Defendant Le Vu Ky, former Vice President of ACB, 7-8 years in prison;

Trinh Kim Quang, former Vice President of ACB, 6-7 years in prison;

Ly Xuan Hai, former General Director of ACB, 12-14 years in prison;

Pham Trung Cang, former Vice President of ACB, 3 years in prison with suspended sentence;

Huynh Quang Tuan - former Deputy General Director of ACB Bank was sentenced to 3 years in prison with a suspended sentence for "intentionally violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences".

8:45: The People's Court concluded that, through directing 6 companies: Hanoi Asia Financial Investment Company Limited; Thien Nam Production Development and Import-Export Joint Stock Company, ACB Investment Joint Stock Company; Asia Investment Joint Stock Company, Asia Financial Group Joint Stock Company and B&B Trading Investment Joint Stock Company; Nguyen Duc Kien committed the crime of Illegal Business according to Article 159 of the Penal Code.

9:00:Regarding the prosecution of Mr. Kien for Tax Evasion (Article 161 of the Criminal Code), the People's Court concluded that Nguyen Duc Kien was the person who directly directed his subordinates to sign mortgage contracts and authorize payments to pay debts.

9:11:Because the sentence was so long, the presiding judge had to ask a member of the jury to continue the announcement. Basically, the court agreed with the allegations stated in the previous indictment against Nguyen Duc Kien and his accomplices.

9:15:Regarding the prosecution of the act of intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences, the first-instance panel concluded: Defendant Nguyen Duc Kien and his accomplices discussed together for employees to deposit domestic and foreign currencies (including VND and USD) at a number of credit institutions.

This act of the defendants violated the provisions of Article 106 of the Law on Credit Institutions 2010 and caused a loss of VND 718 billion to ACB Bank. The entire amount of VND 718 billion was appropriated by Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu.

In addition, the panel concluded that the defendants had discussed and issued a decision to buy shares on the stock exchange. This act, along with the investment in ACB bank shares, violated the provisions of Article 29, Decision 27/2007/QD-BTC dated April 24, 2007 of the Ministry of Finance.

This crime by Nguyen Duc Kien and his accomplices caused damage to ACB Bank of nearly 687 billion VND.

Mr. Kien's tense face waiting for the Court to announce the verdict

9:35:With a summary of the entire case content and conclusion, the panel of judges determined that defendant Nguyen Duc Kien violated all four charges that the People's Procuracy had prosecuted.

9:40:According to the panel of judges, the defendants basically did not admit the content of the previously prosecuted indictment. Defendants Thanh and Yen argued that they were only employees, receiving salaries, and therefore did not commit any crime. Defendant Huynh Quang Tuan confirmed that he attended the meetings, but only as a guest, not as a member of the board of directors.

In the case of Mr. Tran Xuan Gia, according to the court, the medical condition has been confirmed by a professional agency, therefore, the panel of judges decided to temporarily suspend the case.

9:42:With the evidence collected and the process of questioning and public debate in court, the panel of judges believes that there is sufficient basis to conclude that the defendant Kien committed the crime of Illegal Business as charged in the indictment. In addition, the crimes of Tax Evasion, Fraudulent Appropriation of Property and Intentional Violation are well-founded.

The court confirmed that defendants Thanh and Yen were accomplices who assisted defendant Kien in the act of fraud and property appropriation.

9:53:The first instance judgment reviewed the content of the accusation, as well as the proposed sentences of the prosecution agency before the court. At the same time, it recorded the opinions of the lawyers, during the process of defending the defendant.

For example, in the case of defendants Thanh and Yen, the lawyer said that they were just employees, so they did not commit a crime.

10:00:Based on the documents examined and a comprehensive review of the case, the first instance panel of judges concluded that there was sufficient basis to affirm that Nguyen Duc Kien had illegally conducted business worth more than 21 trillion VND.

10:15:The panel of judges held that the defendant's actions fully satisfied the crime of illegal business as affirmed in the first instance judgment.

10:20:The panel of judges changed their opinion when considering the sentence compared to the accusation of the Supreme People's Procuracy. "The prosecution of Point a is not sufficient grounds, therefore, it is adjusted down to Point c of the crime of Illegal Business, stipulated in Article 159 of the Penal Code" - the first instance judgment clearly stated.

The panel of judges is reading the conclusion of the case of Mr. Kien.

Thus, compared to the indictment and accusation from the prosecution agency, Mr. Kien's sentence in Clause 2, Article 159 of the Penal Code was reduced by one detail (point a, Clause 2 of this crime stipulates the circumstance of "Taking advantage of the name of an agency or organization".

10:30:Regarding the crime of Tax Evasion, the Panel of Judges concluded: The Procuracy prosecuted Nguyen Duc Kien for Tax Evasion with sufficient grounds and the right person for the right crime. In particular, Nguyen Duc Kien was the person who directly directed the implementation of this act.

Notably, in the conclusion of the charge of Tax Evasion, the first instance panel requested the Investigation Police Agency to consider investigating the actions of Ms. Dang Ngoc Lan (defendant Kien’s wife) and Nguyen Thuy Huong (defendant Kien’s sister). The panel believed that these two people had actively assisted Nguyen Duc Kien in tax evasion.

10:45:The panel of judges held that, at the first instance trial, the defendant Nguyen Duc Kien did not honestly admit his guilt for fraud and appropriation of property. Therefore, it is necessary to impose an additional penalty, fining the defendant Kien 100 million VND to the public treasury.

The two defendants Thanh and Yen, although they were active accomplices in the criminal acts of Mr. Kien. However, in court, the two defendants confessed honestly; besides, these two defendants were only employees, under the direction of Mr. Kien. Therefore, it is necessary to consider reducing the punishment of the two defendants Thanh and Yen.

11:06:The panel of judges held that, in terms of civil matters, B&B Company was forced to pay more than 25 billion VND. The additional penalty required defendant Kien to pay more than 75 billion VND (3 times the tax amount).

Regarding the crime of Fraudulent appropriation of property, the first instance judgment affirmed that there was sufficient basis to confirm that Nguyen Duc Kien committed the crime. Because during the trial, the defendant Kien did not honestly confess, therefore, a severe prison sentence should be applied.

11:10:According to the conclusion, at the trial, the defendants admitted that there was a meeting related to the policy of entrusting employees to deposit money. The defendants also affirmed that it was an annual activity.

11:12:Regarding ACB Bank entrusting 19 employees to deposit money, according to the first instance verdict, that was a violation of the law. Regarding the amount of more than 718 billion VND, the panel of judges said that this content had been resolved in another case, so it was not considered.

11:15:According to the People's Court, Huyen Nhu was actively assisted by Huynh Thi Bao Ngoc, therefore, it is necessary to request the Ministry of Public Security to prosecute the case against Huynh Thi Bao Ngoc. Ms. Ngoc is the Deputy Head of the Fund Management Department of ACB Bank, the person who is said to have directly contacted Huyen Nhu in sending more than 718 billion VND from ACB to Huyen Nhu's branch at Vietinbank.

11:40:The panel of judges said that although he did not play an important role at ACB bank, according to the assessment of the first instance verdict, Nguyen Duc Kien had extremely great influence.

11:45:The court affirmed that this was a case that had a particularly serious impact on the economy in order to "serve group interests". The defendants' actions had disrupted the domestic financial market. Therefore, a very severe sentence was needed to educate and deter.

11:46:Defendant Nguyen Duc Kien must bear criminal responsibility with the highest sentence. Because he did not honestly confess, he was not given any mitigating circumstances according to the law.

11:47:The People's Court decided to separate the amount of 667 billion VND due to intentional violations at ACB bank to handle in another case if there is a request from ACB. Continue to seize the house of "boss" Kien to ensure execution of the judgment.

11:53:The Hanoi People's Court believes that the State Bank needs to review the system of documents, cancel and supplement documents related to banking operations appropriately. It is necessary to improve the capacity of banking staff. For the Ministry of Planning and Investment: It is necessary to review the system of legal documents. Continuously improve professional skills and knowledge to reduce difficulties and troubles.

12:00:After announcing the conclusion of the entire case, presiding judge Nguyen Huu Chinh, on behalf of the panel of judges, declared that defendant Nguyen Duc Kien violated all four charges that the People's Procuracy had prosecuted.

Accordingly, the People's Court declared defendant Nguyen Duc Kien guilty of 4 crimes (Fraud, Tax evasion, Illegal business, Intentional violation), sentenced defendant Nguyen Duc Kien to 30 years in prison for all 4 crimes. The additional penalty is to compensate more than 75 billion VND to the State budget. Defendant Kien is banned from holding banking positions for 5 years.

12:10:The court sentenced the defendants:

1. Nguyen Duc Kien (born 1964): 30 years in prison for 4 crimes (Illegal business; Tax evasion; Intentional violation; Fraudulent appropriation of property).

2. Le Vu Ky (born 1956): 5 years (previously proposed 7 to 8 years in prison)

3. Trinh Kim Quang (born 1954): 4 years in prison (previously proposed 6 to 7 years in prison.

4. Pham Trung Cang (born in 1954): 3 years in prison (previously proposed 3 years in prison but given suspended sentence, 5 years probation)

5. Ly Xuan Hai (born 1965): 8 years in prison. Banned from holding banking positions for 5 years (previously proposed 12 to 14 years in prison).

6. Huynh Quang Tuan (born in 1958): 2 years in prison (previously proposed 3 years in prison but given suspended sentence, 5 years probation).

7. Tran Ngoc Thanh (born 1952): 5 years and 6 months in prison (previously proposed 9 to 10 years in prison).

8. Nguyen Thi Hai Yen (born 1969): 5 years in prison (previously proposed 7 to 8 years in prison).

According to GTVT newspaper