Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh, former vice chief of the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department, was sentenced to four years in prison on Friday for "violating rules on state asset management" in the Thu Duc Housing Development Corporation scandal.
Other defendants, also former staff of the tax department, were given sentences ranging from suspended 30-month jail terms to four years behind bars for helping Hanh and for their "lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences".
Nguyen Vu Bao Hoang, former general director of Thu Duc Housing Development Corporation (Thuduc House), was sentenced to six years in jail for "fraudulently appropriating property" and "violating accounting rules, causing serious consequences".
The court said Hanh and the tax officers had wrongly approved tax refunds 15 times for Thuduc House and neglected signs of tax management risks, causing a loss of VND365 billion ($15.5 million) to the state. Hanh and the other defendants had admitted to their violations.
The heaviest punishments of 30 years in jail went to Tran Nhat Thanh and Mac Van Nguyen, two of Trinh Tien Dung's accomplices, the mastermind behind the crime.
Overall, 67 defendants were given 13 suspended jail terms, five financial penalties, and 49 jail terms.
Thuduc House has already paid back VND365 billion ($15.5 million), so some defendants were given reduced sentences.
From 2016 to 2020, Trinh Tien Dung, currently a fugitive, directed people to set up "ghost" companies in Vietnam and abroad to take advantage of a state policy that encourages enterprises to export electronic components with a tax rate of 0%.
The investigative agency said that Dung had hooked up with officers in District 1, 3, and 5 tax departments; then together with Luu Thi Ngat, director of Khanh Hung Company, used 16 "ghost" companies to issue false VAT invoices, legalizing input for Thuduc House, Southwest Saigon Company, and Hoang Nam Anh Company to receive VAT refunds.
Dung is still on the run, the investigation agency will handle his crimes in a separate case as soon as he is arrested.