Appeal trial for MobiFone-AVG case suspended due to COVID-19 concern

The defendants at a court in January (Photo: VNA)

In the case, eleven of the 14 defendants filed appeals, asking for clemency and reduced sentences. Later, former General Director of MobiFone Cao Duy Hai and former Director of the AMAX investment consultancy and valuation company Vo Van Manh withdrew their requests.

Three defendants did not appeal against their penalties, namely former Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan, former head of the ministry’s Department of Enterprise Management Pham Dinh Trong, and former Chairman of the AVG Board of Directors Pham Nhat Vu.

During the first-instance trial on December 16-28, 2019, the Hanoi’s People Court handed down a jail term of eight years to Truong Minh Tuan for “taking bribes” and another six years for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”. The total sentence for him is 14 years behind bars.

Trong received a five-year term for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”. Meanwhile, Vu would spend three years in jail for “giving bribes”.

Among the nine defendants going to court this time, former Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son was given life imprisonment for “taking bribes” and 16 years in prison for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”. The total sentence is life imprisonment.

Former Deputy General Directors of MobiFone Ho Tuan and Nguyen Manh Hung received a prison sentence of two and a half years each for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”, according to the first-instance trial’s verdict.

Nguyen Dang Nguyen, MobiFone Deputy General Director, got two years in prison for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences.”

The Hanoi People’s Court found that in 2015, MobiFone, run by the Ministry of Information and Communications, bought 95 percent of AVG’s shares for 8.9 trillion VND (375 million USD), much higher than their actual value. The deal caused a loss of over 6.59 trillion VND (277 million USD) to the State.