HCM City (VNA) – The Ho Chi Minh CityPeople’s Procuracy on February 9 proposed life imprisonment for Huynh Thi HuyenNhu, former deputy chief of the Risk Management Section of VietinBank’s HCMCity branch, for “swindling to appropriate assets.”

A jail sentence of 12-14 years was proposed forNhu’s accomplice Vo Anh Tuan, former deputy director of Vietinbank's Nha Bebranch. Together with his previous sentence, Tuan is expected to serve 30 yearson prison.

According to the verdict, whilebeing acting head of Dien Bien Phu transaction office of Vietinbank’s HCM Citybranch from May to September 2011, Nhu met with intermediaries andrepresentatives of Orient Securities Corporation, Hung Yen Investment JSC,SaigonBank Berjaya Securities Company, Global Insurance Corporation, and An LocCompany to persuade them to deposit money in Vietinbank’s branches in Nha Beand Ho Chi Minh. She promised them interest rates higher than the ceiling rate,along with commission for the intermediaries, which were in violation of law.Nhu paid the extra interest and commission out of her own pocket.

After the companies depositedtheir money in their accounts in Vietinbank, Nhu faked the signatures ofaccount holders and made use of her power to withdraw money from the companies’accounts to pay her personal debts. The total amount of money that Nhumisappropriated came to 1.085 trillion VND (43.8 million USD).

Vo Anh Tuan accompanied Nhu whenshe travelled to Hanoi to meet with representatives from Hung Yen InvestmentJSC. He knew of Nhu’s deceptive acts but did not tell. Tuan also got 10 billionVND (440,000 USD) in the transaction.

A representative from the Procuracy said that Nhu’sacts constituted the crime of “swindling to appropriate assets,” not“embezzlement of property.”

The procuracy maintained its stance that Nhu andTuan’s acts constitute the crime of swindling, not embezzlement. Their acts areespecially dangerous as they damaged assets of many units, including those withState property, breaching economic management rules, affecting State managementagencies in the banking sector and eroding people’s trust in the banking system.

Therefore, the Procuracy asked the judge to forceNhu to compensate the five aforesaid companies.

Meanwhile, representatives from the five companies proposedthat the judge make Vietinbank to refund both their deposits in Vietinbankalong with interest.

However, Vietinbank rejected the compensation requests,explaining that the companies violated the law when signing false contracts oninterest rates, lured by the promise of Nhu.

The trial is scheduled to last until February12.-VNA