On the afternoon of June 7.6, the Hanoi People's Court continued to hear the case of the loss of hundreds of billions of dong during the equitization process taking place at Cienco 1. At the end of the interrogation, the representative of the Procuracy proposed the sentence for the 7 defendants.
The trial of 7 defendants in the case occurred at Cienco 1
Jointly compensated more than 54,7 billion VND
Defendants Pham Dung, former Chairman of the Cienco 1 Member Council, and Can Hong Lai, former General Director of Cienco 1, were both recommended 9-10 years in prison for violating regulations on management and use of state assets, causing losses and waste.
On the same charge, defendant Le Van Long, former Chief Accountant of Cienco 1, was recommended 4-5 years in prison; Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh, Deputy Head of Finance and Accounting Department (Cienco 1 – JSC) and Nguyen Manh Tien, former Head of Market Planning Department (Cienco 1 – JSC), were recommended 36 to 42 months in prison.
The other two, Nguyen Anh Tuan, an appraiser of A&C Auditing Company Hanoi branch, and Nguyen Ngoc Tuyen, former auditor of A&C Auditing Company Hanoi branch, were both recommended for 24-30 months in prison.
Regarding civil liability, the representative of the Procuracy proposed that the two defendants, Pham Dung and Can Hong Lai, jointly compensate more than VND 2 billion, which is damage from the incorrect valuation of 54,7 land plots owned by Cienco 4.
As for the debt of nearly VND 185 billion, the prosecutor said that in March, the Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Debt Trading Company (DATC) and Cienco 3 - JSC had a meeting and agreed that Cienco 1- JSC will hand over this debt to DATC.
With the money collected, Cienco 1 – JSC will return to the state budget after the court's decision. Therefore, the representative of the procuracy proposed the trial panel to accept the agreement between the parties.
The representative of the procuracy retains the right to prosecute at the trial
According to the procuracy's assessment, the criminal acts of the defendants in the case caused a loss of nearly 240 billion dong to the state budget, the consequences are especially serious.
In which, defendant Pham Dung, as Chairman of the Board of Directors, Head of the Steering Committee for Enterprise Equitization, is the person who is most responsible for helping the Minister of Transport direct and organize the equitization of Cienco 1. The defendant is the one who directly signed the decision to handle bad debts illegally, resulting in nearly VND 185 billion of debt being excluded from the enterprise value. The defendant also did not direct the preparation of a plan to use and redefine the value of 4 land plots, causing more than VND 54,7 billion in damage.
Notably, in addition to the accusatory details, the Procuracy also noted the background of the case when Cienco 1 was a pioneer in equitization. The defendants committed crimes because they wanted to rush to complete the equitization under the direction of their superiors, and did not personally benefit or benefit from it, so it should be considered when assessing the punishment.
A series of mistakes caused hundreds of billions of dollars in damage to the budget
According to the allegations, Cienco 1 was established in 1995. The State holds 100% of the charter capital, with the Ministry of Transport acting as the owner's representative.
In 2013, the Ministry of Transport decided to approve the list of enterprises implementing equitization, including Cienco 1. The Cienco1 Equitization Steering Committee was established, led by Mr. Pham Dung, and Mr. Can Hong Lai as deputy head.
In June 6.2013, to determine the enterprise value before equitization, leaders of Cienco 1 held a meeting to review the receivables of 50 companies with a total amount of more than 364 billion dong.
In fact, these debts are not eligible (the debt company is dissolved, bankrupt or ceased to operate), but Cienco 1 still decided to classify it as "unrecoverable debt" and used the provision to partially handle it, with a total value of nearly VND 185 billion.
After the meeting, Cienco 1 General Director Can Hong Lai signed the report (no number) and sent it to the Board of Directors. After that, Chairman of the Board of Directors Pham Dung signed the opinion form and sent it to the members of the Board of Directors, the members of the Board of Directors agreed on the proposed plan.
As a result, the debt of nearly VND 185 billion was not accounted for in the value of Cienco 1, was not handed over to DATC by Cienco 1, nor handed over to the joint stock company, nor reported to the Ministry of Transport.
Group of 7 defendants were found guilty in the case
In addition to the violation of debt settlement of nearly VND 185 billion, the defendants at Cienco 1 were also accused of causing damage in the handling of 4 land plots in Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of Long An, Tien Giang and Gia Lai.
In June 6.2013, in the minutes of enterprise valuation, Cienco 1 and the auditing company determined the value of 4 land plots to be nearly 12,7 billion VND. The audit side noted that this is only a temporary value, the representative of state capital at the company needs to continue to monitor and recover the difference.
However, when proposing the equitization plan, the defendants at Cienco 1 did not develop a land use plan to re-determine the value of land use rights according to the market, but only carried out the procedures for handing over the land plots to the company after the equitization.
Valuation conclusions show that 4 land plots as of June 6.2013 have a total value of nearly 67,5 billion VND. This means that the damage caused is more than 54,7 billion VND.
In addition to the debt of nearly 185 billion dong that was not accounted for in the enterprise value when equitization, the prosecution agency determined the total loss in the case was nearly 240 billion dong.
