Former Mobifone chairman arrested over AVG deal
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| Former Mobifone chairman Le Nam Tra. |
A criminal case was filed by the Ministry of Public Security on July 10 concerning the violation of public investment regulations at Mobifone, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) and the relevant units.
In addition to Tra, Pham Dinh Trong, head of the Department of Enterprise Management at the MIC, was also arrested.
Tra and Trong had already been expelled from the Party following a meeting of the Central Inspection Commission in late June.
In 2015 Mobifone purchased a 95% stake in AVG at nearly VND8.9 trillion (US$390 million), significantly higher than the market value of the struggling TV operator.
The Government Inspectorate later concluded that the deal meant the government risked losing more than VND7 trillion, including over VND1.1 trillion worth of AVG’s debt.
