Hanoi (VNA) - The HanoiPeople’s Procuracy has proposed a death sentence for Giang Kim Dat, a formerofficial at a subsidiary of Vietnam’s Ship Building Industry Corporation, or Vinashin, a state-owned shipbuilding giant.

Dat, 40, who used to be a salesmanager at Vinashin Ocean Shipping Company Ltd, orVinashinlines, was accused of embezzlement and money laundering along withanother eight former officials at a trial on February 18. The eight otherdefendants were likely to face between eight years to life in prison

During the trial, it wasrecommended that Tran Van Liem, former general director of Vinashinlines, receivea life sentence, while Tran Van Khuong, the company’s ex-chief accountant, facea 20-year jail term for his involvement in the corruption.

According to the indictment, fromJuly 2006 to March 2007, as general director of the company, Liem signedcontracts to buy three foreign ships, Vinashin Summer, Vinashin Island andVinashin Phoenix, and authorised Dat to negotiate with the foreign partners.

The city People’s Procuracy alsodecided that Giang Van Hien, Dat’s father, would likely be put behind bars foreight to nine years for money laundering. Dat fled the country in 2010, whenauthorities commenced legal proceedings against him and many officials fortheir wrongdoings in a corruption case at the shipbuilding giant that caused aloss of about 43.5 million USD, as calculated in 2012, to the state coffers.

He was arrested on July 7, 2015.

Liem, Dat and Khuong conspiredwith ship owners to rig prices and earn profits, pocketing around 249 billionVND (11.06 million USD) from May 2006 to June 2008.

Dat received a commission ofbetween 2 and 3.75 per cent of the total contract value for each transaction,which was transferred to a bank account in Hien’s name, investigators said.

In total, the trio “abusedposition and power” and misappropriated around 260 billion VND (11.56 millionUSD), the indictment said. Liem misappropriated 3.1 billion VND (138,000 USD),while Dat and Khuong embezzled around 255 billion VND (11.34 million USD) and 110,000USD, respectively.

The police found that after moneywas transferred to his bank account, Hien withdrew money for Dat to buy some 40villas and luxury apartments as well as 13 cars in his or his relatives’names. 

At the trial, the defendants pleaded not guilty, affirming that theprosecution against them was wrongful.

As one of the major corruptioncases ordered to be brought to trial as soon as possible by the CentralSteering Committee for Anti-Corruption, the trials of Dat and his accompliceshas attracted a great deal of attention from the public.-VNA