Jailed bank tycoon faces extra charges

Tran Phuong Binh, who was sentenced to life in prison in 2018 for his involvement in big losses at Dong A Bank as the creditor's CEO, was prosecuted on Monday for lending violations.

In addition, Nguyen Duc Tai, 54, former director of a Dong A Bank transaction office; and Phung Ngoc Khanh, 59, chairman and CEO of M&C JSC, have been detained for four months on charges of “violations against banking regulations,” under Article 206 of the Penal Code, the Ministry of Public Security’s investigative agency stated.

This is the fourth case in which Binh has allegedly been involved that caused losses to the Ho Chi Minh City-based lender.

As for the first, a life sentence was given to him in December 2018, with the court stating losses had totaled VND3,600 billion (almost $154 million).

In the second case, Binh was also sentenced to life in prison on charges of having caused losses of VND8,800 billion. In the third case, not yet brought to trial, charges against him stated that he caused a loss of VND184 billion at the bank’s Hanoi branch.

In the fourth case, according to police, the 64-year-old had ordered staff members at the bank to lend VND1,520 billion (over $65.5 million) to four companies that were among clients of M&C JSC.