Son of former BIDV boss arrested for abuse of trust

Tung is the son of Tran Bac Ha, 62, former chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV). Ha has been in police custody for alleged violations of lending regulations since November 2018.

The Ministry of Public Security noted in a statement on March 29, that the Investigative Police Agency is looking into a criminal case involving the violation of banking regulations at BIDV and Binh Ha Co.

Aside from Tung, investigators on March 26 started legal proceedings against Dinh Van Dung, former general director of the company, on charges of fraud and abuse of trust, based on the 2015 Penal Code.

Tran Duy Tung, 34, chairman of Binh Ha Breeding JSC (L, 1), and Tran Bac Ha, 62, former chairman of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (R, 1) pose for a photo

The company’s incumbent general director, Tran Anh Quang, and a shareholder, Thai Thanh Vinh, were also charged with abuse of trust.

A police official told Tuoi Tre newspaper that investigators had raided Tung’s house at No.1 Han Mac Tu in Quy Nhon, a coastal city in Binh Dinh, on March 28.

Local media reported that Binh Ha Co. had set up a project in 2015 to raise beef cows at a total investment of VND4.22 trillion. The project was expected to turn out 254,000 head of cattle per year.

The company intended to borrow VND3.162 trillion to finance the project, and as of early 2016, some VND800 billion had been disbursed.

Covering more than 2,000 hectares in the suburban districts of Cam Xuyen and Ky Anh in the north-central coastal province of Ha Tinh, the farming project was deemed the largest undertaking of its kind in the country.

To make room for the farm, the provincial government had to adjust the entire area, which was initially zoned to grow rubber, farm produce, and production forests, transforming it for the development of animal husbandry and grass fields.

Also, hundreds of hectares of production forests, farm land and rice paddies belonging to local residents were recalled.

Since 2015, production and business operations at the company have fallen short of expectations. The cattle rearing project was ineffective, leading to an accumulated loss of more than VND900 billion.

As a result, the company could not afford to repay its loans to BIDV and has so far caused total losses of over VND890 billion for the bank.

The son of the former BIDV leader, Tung, was accused of selling the cows and using the money for personal gain.

The company imported more than 43,387 beef cows between May 2015 and June 2017, according to the Ha Tinh Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine. However, only 782 cows were found during an inspection in 2018.

In connection with the project, former deputy general director of BIDV Doan Anh Sang, 57, along with a few other individuals, was also arrested for the appraisal, proposal and approval of the loans with preferential treatments in violation of regulations on banking operations.