Tran Qui Thanh, former director of Tan Hiep Phat Trading Service Company Limited, was sentenced to eight years behind bars for “abusing trust to appropriate property”.
His daughters Tran Uyen Phuong and Tran Ngoc Bich got four years in prison and a suspended three-year sentence respectively on the same charge.
The jury concluded that the defendants had concealed their lending activities and committed crimes over a long period of time with large amounts of money. "So strict penalties are needed as deterrents".
From 2019-2020, through brokers, Thanh, Bich and Phuong lent money to Lam Son Hoang, Nguyen Huy Dong, Nguyen Van Chung and Dang Thi Kim Oanh.
The money was loaned at an interest rate of 3% per month, but the trio required the borrowers to sign contracts on transferring assets/shares to them to "hide the nature of the loans".
Though the borrowers fully fulfilled their obligations in repaying principals and interests as agreed, Thanh and his daughters cited their violations of commitments to not return the properties to the owners.
The total value of the assets that the defendants appropriated from the four victims was VND1,048 billion ($41.32 million).
Regarding mitigating circumstances, the jury stated that the defendants repented, confessed sincerely, had good personal backgrounds, and had influenced their relatives to pay VND183 billion ($7.22 million) in compensation.
"In reality, the defendants only appropriated the properties on paper, and the plaintiffs still managed and used the properties. Moreover, the defendants actively participated in charity activities," it added.
Tan Hiep Phat is producing and trading beverage products.