Former FLC Group chairman faces trial for stock market manipulation, asset appropriation

Investigators of the Ministry of Public Security proposed Saturday that Trinh Van Quyet, former chairman of real estate developer FLC Group, be prosecuted for stock market manipulation and asset appropriation.

Quyet is alleged to have gained profits of over VND723.3 billion ($29.43 million) with his illegal acts. He should also be prosecuted for fraudulently increasing an affiliated company’s charter capital to appropriate more than VND3.62 trillion ($147.27 million), the investigators said.

The recommendation for prosecution was made after concluding investigations into "stock market manipulation" and "fraudulent actions to appropriate assets" that occurred at FLC Group, BOS Securities, FLC Faros and related companies.

Investigators have concluded that between May 26, 2017 and January 10, 2022, Trinh Van Quyet, then chairman of FLC Group, directed his younger sister Trinh Thi Minh Hue and other accomplices to manipulate prices of five tickers in the FLC ecosystem, namely AMD of FLC Stone Mining and Investment JSC, HAI of HAI Agrochem JSC, GAB of FLC Mining Investment & Asset Management JSC, FLC of FLC Group, and ART of BOS Securities JSC.

In total, the investigative agency has recommended the prosecution of 20 people for “stock market manipulation” under Clause 2, Article 211 of the 2015 Penal Code.

They include Trinh Van Quyet; Trinh Thi Minh Hue; Trinh Thi Thuy Nga, another younger sister of Quyet; Huong Tran Kieu Dung, then vice chairperson of FLC Group; and Nguyen Quynh Anh, then CEO of BOS Securities.

Five employees of BOS Securities, namely Nguyen Thi Thanh Phuong, then head of securities services; Nguyen Thu Thom, former deputy head of securities services; Bui Ngoc Tu, then deputy head of securities services; Quach Thi Xuan Thu and Tran Thi Lan, then chief accountant, will also be prosecuted.

Investigators have determined that from 2014 to 2016, shareholders contributed VND1.2 trillion to FLC Faros Construction JSC’s (FLC Faros) charter capital with the purpose of appropriating money from investors in the stock market.

Between 2014 and September 2016, Quyet directed his subordinates and other individuals to carry out procedures to artificially raise the charter capital of FLC Faros from VND1.2 billion to VND4.3 trillion ($183.5 million), equivalent to 430 million ROS shares; and listed them on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange to appropriate more than VND3.62 trillion from investors.

Quyet was born in 1975 in Vinh Phuc province, northern Vietnam. On March 29, 2022, he was arrested on charges of “manipulating” and “concealing information in securities activities”. Before his arrest, FLC Group had been known as one of Vietnam's leading property developers with many projects or investment proposals across the country.