A 36-year-old woman who is a former official at the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) may be given a life sentence on swindling charges.

>> $188 mln swindle case by bank staff now on trial The woman, Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, former deputy head of the Risk Management Department of Vietinbank, and her 22 accomplices are being tried in a striking swindle case in which Nhu appropriated nearly VND4 trillion (US$188.7 million) from her victims that include banks, companies, and individuals.

Nhu, who was arrested on September 30, 2011, has been charged with “swindling to appropriate assets” and “counterfeiting seals and materials of agencies and organizations.” The trial, which is chaired by Nguyen Duc Sau, chief judge of the criminal court of HCM City People’s Court, was opened on Monday and is expected to last for 20 days. With the two above-mentioned charges, Nhu will likely be sentenced to life imprisonment, the heaviest penalty for swindle charges pursuant to Item 4, Article 139 of the Penal Code. 

Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu is escorted to the court room on Januray 7, 2014 (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

15 victims including 3 banks, 9 companies According to the indictment announced by the prosecutor’s office, in early 2007, Nhu, abusing her position and trust, mobilized more than VND200 billion ($9.43 million) in capital from many banks, organizations, and individuals at high interest rates to invest in real estate. In order to pay the loans, Nhu had borrowed money from a loan shark, Pham Huu Chi, since 2008 at exorbitant interest rates of 0.5-0.6 percent per day, over 10 times higher than the highest lending rate regulated by the State Bank of Vietnam at that time. Two years later, Nhu began to fall into insolvency and turned to swindling in order to repay her debts.

From March 2010 until September 2011, under the false pretext of mobilizing capital for two Vietinbank branches, Nhu obtained loans totaling VND4,911 billion ($231.65 million) from three individuals, nine companies, and three banks.

In the process to obtain the loans, Nhu forged nearly 200 documents, including 110 false contracts between Vietinbank’s Nha Be Branch and businesses. After using more than VND925 billion of this sum to repay her previous loans and the interest, which was 0.2-4 percent per day incurred to four of her creditors, Nhu appropriated the remaining amount, investigators said. Among the three above banks, Nhu appropriated VND718 billion from Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB), VND200 billion from Nam Viet Commercial Joint Stock Bank, and VND180 billion from Vietnam International Bank’s HCMC Branch.  

Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu (C) and her accomplices in court (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

At the end of yesterday’s trial session, the prosecutors’ office announced an additional indictment, according to which, Nhu has also been found swindling a total amount of VND11 billion from two individuals, one in District 3 and the other in District 1, HCMC.

Assets detained worth only $10.85 mln

During the investigation of the case, concerned agencies discovered and seized many properties owned by Nhu. Specifically, law enforcement agencies have confiscated from the super-swindler VND39 billion ($1.84 million) in cash, three cars worth VND4.5 billion, and 13 properties, including many high-class villas in District 1 and Binh Thanh District, a VND16-billion villa in District 7, a VND37-billion villa in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province, two villas worth VND43 billion in Quang Nam province, and some others. The total value of the above assets is only about VND230 billion ($10.85 million), which is smaller than the total amount Nhu appropriated. The hearing continues today, January 7.