Hanoi (VNA) – The Hanoi People’s Court on February 5 sentenced former Chairman of the Board of Directors of PetroVietnamConstruction Corporation (PVC) Trinh Xuan Thanh to life imprisonment for thecharge of “asset embezzlement” at PetroVietnam Power Land JSC (PVP Land). 

Thanh’s accomplices, Dao Duy Phong , former Chairman of PVPLand’s Board of Directors, was given 16 years, while Nguyen Ngoc Sinh, formerPVP Land General Director was sentenced to 13 years and Dinh Manh Thang, former Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of Song Da Oil and Gas Investment and Commerce JSC was imposed nineyears in prison.

Le Hoa Binh, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of 1/5Construction and Services JSC and Minh Ngan JSC, and Nguyen Thi Kim Thoa,former chief accountant of 1/5 Construction and Services JSC and Minh Ngan JSCwere sentenced to eight-year and six-year imprisonments, respectively.

Binh and Thoa are serving their sentence of life imprisonmenton charge of “fraudulent appropriation of property” at 1/5 Construction andServices JSC following verdict No. 134 issued on March 15, 2017. Therefore, thecombined penalty for the two is life imprisonment.

Meanwhile, both Thai Kieu Huong, former Deputy GeneralDirector of Vietsan Investment JSC and Huynh Nguyen Quoc Duy, a self-employedtrader, were sentenced to 10 years in prison.

All these defendants are charged with “asset embezzlement” inaccordance with Article 278, Clause 4, Count a of the 1999 Penal Code (now isArticle 353, Clause 4, Count a of the 2015 Penal Code).

[PVC trial highlights rule of law]

The jury concluded that Thanh, Thang, Huong, Phong, Sinh andDuy contacted and connived with Binh and Thoa to implement the signing of atransfer contract at the Nam Dan Plaza project with the price of 34 million VND(1,506 USD) per sq.m, lower than the deposit price of 52 million VND (2,303USD) per sq.m, to appropriate a differential sum of more than 87 billion VND(3.86 million USD). 

Of the money, Thanh arrogated 14 billion VND,while Thang pocketed 5 billion VND; Phong, 8 billion VND; and Sinh, 2 billionVND.

Dang Si Hung, chief of PVP Land’s economic and planningdivision, who died during the investigation, appropriated 20 billion VND. Dueto his death, the Supreme People’s Procuracy decided to cancel theinvestigation against him.

The defendants received a total of 49 billion VND from thedeal.

According to the verdict, among the defendants, Thanh playedthe decisive role in the case, followed by Phong and Sinh.-VNA