Vietnam: Bankers arrested for multimillion dollar fraud

By Bennett Murray

HANOI, Vietnam (AA) - Vietnamese authorities arrested seven high-level ex-bankers over a multimillion-dollar graft scandal, state media reported Wednesday.

Hoang Van Toan, former chairman of the board of directors for TrustBank, and Tran Son Nam, the bank’s former general director, were among the seven arrested on charges of “deliberately violating state regulations on economic management”, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

Two separate loans issued by the partially state-owned financial institution resulted in losses totaling at least 470 billion Vietnamese dong ($20.9 million) for TrustBank, which renamed itself the Vietnam Construction Bank in 2013 following Toan and Nam’s departure.

Following their arrest Tuesday, the two men are reportedly being held in Hanoi as the investigation continues.

Although Vietnam’s 6.2 percent GDP growth in 2016 made it one of the world’s fastest growing economies, the year was also marred by the emergence of several high profile scandals among state-owned enterprises.

The rebranded Vietnam Construction Bank became embroiled in an even larger scandal that saw 36 employees convicted last September over a $403.5 embezzlement scheme.

Former bank chairman Pham Cong Danh received a 30-year prison sentence for his role.

State-owned enterprises control large segments of the Vietnamese economy despite privatization drives from Hanoi.

While critics complain that corruption is commonplace among the state-owned enterprises, authorities occasionally impose harsh sentences on convicted officials.

Two executives of the VinaShin state-run shipbuilding company were sentenced to death in 2013 for involvement in an embezzlement case that saw a $600 million default on foreign loans and a sovereign credit downgrade from Moody’s