Trial of former ACB bank official reopens

Nguyen Duc Kien (in white T-shirt) at the hearing on May 20 morning

The alleged accomplice, Tran Xuan Gia, has been unable to attend due to poor health.

This morning, Chief Justice Nguyen Huu Chinh announced that Tran Xuan Gia, former ACB Chairman, was still unable to attend, but the trial would proceed, postponing only the prosecution of Gia.

The hearing saw the attendance of 82 organisations and individuals who had some stake in the case, including representatives from the state bank, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the General Department of Taxation, the former chief of Vietinbank's Dien Bien Phu branch in HCM City, Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, Nguyen Duc Kien's wife, Dang Ngoc Lan.

Nguyen Duc Kien continued to proclaim his innocence and asked the court to summon several witnesses on his behalf, including former chief of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pham Chi Lan.

Other defendants including ACB former vice chairs, Le Vu Ky and Trinh Kim Quang; ACB former general director, Ly Xuan Hai; ACB former chairman, Pham Trung Cang; Director of the Hanoi ACB Investment JSC, Tran Ngoc Thanh; Chief Accountant of the Hanoi ACB Investment JSC, Nguyen Thi Hai Yen; and the bank’s former board member, Huynh Quang Tuan also denied the accusations.

Tran Ngoc Thanh at the court

Tran Duc Kien was charged with four offenses: fraud for the misappropriation of assets, intentional violations of the State’s economic management regulations causing serious damages, tax evasion and illegal trading.

Tran Ngoc Thanh and Nguyen Thi Hai Yen, Director and Chief Accountant of the Hanoi ACB Investment JSC, were charged with fraud for the misappropriation of assets.

Tran Xuan Gia and other defendants, including former vice chairs Le Vu Ky and Trinh Kim Quang; ACB former general director Ly Xuan Hai; ACB former chairman Pham Trung Cang; and the bank’s former board member Huynh Quang Tuan, were charged with acting against the State’s economic management regulations, causing serious damages.

The trial is expected to last until June 6.