Drinkmaker Tan Hiep Phat owner accused of appropriating $31.6 mln

Tran Qui Thanh, chairman of Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group (THP), and his two daughters have been accused of appropriating multiple plots of land worth VND767 billion ($31.6 million) from four people they had lent money to.

The Ministry of Public Security's investigave agency on Friday proposed to prosecute Thanh, 70; and his two daughters,Tran Uyen Phuong, 42, deputy director of Tan Hiep Phat Trading and Services Co., Ltd., and Tran Ngoc Bich, 39, former director of Tan Hiep Phat Trading and Services LLC, for the crime of abuse of trust to appropriate property.

Authorities allege that taking advantage of regulations on lending and transfer contracts, Thanh, his two daughters and a number of people lent money at an interest rate "below the level that constitutes the crime of usury".

Thanh did not make loan contracts with a mortgage, but forced businesses and individuals to make a contract to transfer real estate projects and shares in the projects. The value of projects and real estate stated in the contracts was many times lower than the actual value, the investigators noted.

When the borrowers completed procedures to transfer assets to Tan Hiep Phat, Thanh directed his two daughters to complete procedures to transfer the assets to his name to take control of them.

Even though the borrowers fully paid the principal and interest as agreed, Thanh used deceitful tricks or excuses to not return the properties.

From January 2019 to November 2020, the Ministry of Public Security said that Thanh and his accomplices appropriated the property of four victims including two projects belonging to Dang Thi Kim Oanh, 29 plots of land held by Nguyen Van Chung, four plots of land owned by Lam Son Hoang, and two plots of land of Nguyen Huy Dong.

The total value of the assets is said to be VND767 billion ($31.6 million).