Defrauded investors register to attend the trial of Tan Hoang Minh leaders at the Hanoi People’s Court, February 29, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Lam
This group represents a fifth of the total 6,630 investors who purchased Tan Hoang Minh bonds in 2021 and 2022, only to later discover they had been defrauded.
They submitted a joint letter to the Hanoi People’s Court, requesting leniency for Tan Hoang Minh chairman and CEO Do Anh Dung and his son and deputy CEO Do Hoang Viet. The duo, along with 13 accomplices, are expected to go on trial Tuesday on charges related to misappropriation of assets.
To accommodate the large number of people involved, a mega tent was erected at the Hanoi People’s Court to broadcast the trial live. Hundreds of people are expected to attend.
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A mega tent set up at the Hanoi People’s Court to prepare for the trial of Tan Hoang Minh leaders. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh |
Falsification of reports
As of June 2021, Tan Hoang Minh had accumulated 18.5 trillion dong ($748.23 million), prompting President Do Anh Dung to ask his son to devise fundraising methods, as underlined the accusation.
Their strategy was to use three subsidiaries – Ngoi Sao Viet, Soleil and Cung Dien Mua Dong – to issue bonds in a three-step process that included issuing the bonds, buying them back by Tan Hoang Minh and ultimately selling them. to individual investors.
Due to its large debts, Tan Hoang Minh was not eligible to issue bonds, necessitating the use of these subsidiaries.
However, these subsidiaries were also not qualified to issue bonds, leading Do Hoang Viet to ask the chief accountant, Phung The Tinh, to fabricate their financial statements to meet the criteria for issuing bonds.
This manipulation was supported by two auditing firms, CPA Hanoi and Nam Viet, which validated the falsified reports, marking a violation of Vietnamese accounting standards, according to the prosecution.
From July 2021 to March 2022, the subsidiaries issued 90 million bonds valued at VND10 trillion, purportedly to finance a project on Phu Quoc Island, a renowned tourist destination in southern Vietnam. But investigators found that the project never existed.
This complex scheme allowed Tan Hoang Minh to amass VND14 trillion from novice investors by recycling funds: using capital from new investors to settle their obligations with previous ones.
At the time of investigation, they allegedly stole VND8.643 trillion from investors.
During the investigation, Tan Hoang Minh and other involved parties handed over the entire amount of VND8.6 trillion to the Ministry of Public Security, in an effort to remedy the repercussions of the case and compensate defrauded investors, according to the prosecution.
