Former BIDV chairman implicated in notorious banking fraud

Tran Bac Ha, former chairman of BIDV

According to the conclusions of the Central Inspection Commission of the Communist Party of Vietnam presented at the 26th meeting, the former chairman of BIDV allegedly violated regulations when he let the 12 companies related to the notorious fraud case in Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB) borrow VND4.7 trillion ($207 million) from state-owned bank BIDV.

The Central Inspection Committee concluded that Tran Bac Ha, former chairman of BIDV, had violated the regulations, bypassed democracy in his management of the bank, and broke the duties and responsibilities of his position.

Tran Bac Ha also violated credit procedures and regulations by approving a number of loans, investments, and debt management decisions. In addition to singling out Ha, inspectors also found that the standing committee of BIDV Party Committee for the terms 2010-2015 and 2015-2020 had showed lack of responsibility, poor leadership, and a lack of inspection and supervision.

These violations in turn enabled multiple systematic violations to occur at BIDV, caused very serious consequences, and resulted in multiple staff members being criminally prosecuted, negatively affecting the lives of all BIDV employees.

The committee also found BIDV's deputy general directors Doan Anh Sang and Tran Luc Lang responsible for the violations of the bank's Party Committee and partially responsible for the loan of Pham Cong Danh.

Ha, Sang, and Lang's violations have damaged the reputation of the Party and BIDV and therefore merit disciplinary actions, the Central Inspection Committee concluded.

Tran Bac Ha had been working for 35 years at BIDV before retiring in September 2016.

Last week, the Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Court has sentenced Hua Thi Phan, a former banking advisor, to 30 years in prison and ordered that she pay more than $700 million in damages caused at VNCB. She embezzled $278 million from VNCB.