HO CHI MINH CITY, May 30 — A Vietnamese court has upheld a key judgement in the country’s biggest-ever fraud case, a lawyer for one of the victims told Reuters, in a trial that has spotlighted Vietnam’s ability to tackle financial crime at a time when foreign banks are heeding government calls to invest.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s High Court ruled today to uphold a judgment that the central perpetrator of a 4.9 trillion dong (RM858.93 million) theft is responsible for returning some of the stolen money, rather than the individual’s employer at the time, state-controlled VietinBank.
The ruling comes as financial firms such as investment banks and global buyout funds flock to Vietnam, hoping to capitalise on a period of privatisation and capital-raising deals in the fast-growing emerging Southeast Asian economy.
The chief executive of one victim, depositor Saigonbank Berjaya Securities JSC (SBBS) — a unit of Malaysia’s Berjaya Corporation Bhd — also confirmed today’s verdict.
Josephine Yei told Reuters earlier that if the ruling was upheld, she had little hope of recouping her bank’s US$10 million (RM39.95 million) from the perpetrator, who was sentenced to life imprisonment.
VietinBank, formally Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
A VietinBank lawyer said the bank had instructed its lawyers not to comment.
Majority owner State Bank of Vietnam — the country’s central bank — could not provide immediate comment. — Reuters
