Ho Chi Minh City police on Tuesday arrested and launched legal proceedings against Te Tri Dung, the former general director of Tan Thuan Holdings Co. Ltd. (IPC), for embezzlement and violating regulations on the management and use of state assets.

IPC official Ho Thi Thanh Phuc was also arrested and placed under investigation for the same charges.

Established in 1993, IPC is wholly owned by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City which specializes in infrastructure development projects for local export processing zones, industrial parks, and residential areas.

Dung, 38, was involved in the illicit sale of nine million shares at Sadeco, an estate development company entirely owned by the Ho Chi Minh City administration, to electronics chain Nguyen Kim.

Investigators who later audited the sale found that it caused an estimated loss of VND153 billion (US$6.54 million) to the state budget. 

The trade also helped Nguyen Kim, a private company, take a controlling 54-percent stake in Sadeco while IPC’s holding in the company dropped from 75 to 28.8 percent.

Dung, who was promoted to IPC general director in 2015 was also found to have used state money to fund 106 days of overseas travel in 2016 and 2017.

Between 2016 and 2017, IPC took out unneeded bank loans worth VND400 billion ($17.08 million), which resulted in the company owning a total of VND8 billion ($341,500) in interest.

Wrongdoings were found in the company’s leasing of its headquarters in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City.

Dung was suspended from his position in October 2018 following the conclusion of an inspection into IPC’s operations.

Police conducted a search of his residence in District 7 following his arrest on Tuesday evening.

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