causing serious consequences,” after his two-day trial ended.

Ha Van Tham, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OceanBank) at the trial on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo Doan Tan

Former Deputy General Director of OceanBank Le Thi Thu Thuy (who is spending four years behind bars in another case) got two years imprisonment for the same charge.

The court also gave prison terms of 18 to 20 months for five other defendants. Of these, three of them got suspended sentences.

Tham was previously sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzlement, abuse of positions and powers and violations of regulations on lending causing serious consequences at another trial.

According to the indictment, from 2010 to 2014, at the direction of Tham, OceanBank paid more than VND1.576 trillion (US$67.2 million at the current exchange rate) in extra interest rates, which were not stated in contracts, to customers depositing money at the bank. 

To cover the payments, Tham instructed Thuy to co-ordinate with other sections to produce fake contracts with partners inside and outside of the Ocean Group, resulting in losses of more than VND106 billion (US$4.5 million) for OceanBank.

As Chairman of the Board of Directors, Tham ordered leaders of OceanBank and its partners at the Ocean Group to approve and sign 44 fake contracts, causing losses for the bank.

As Tham’s accomplices in the case were only wage-earners and did not gain any personal benefits from the wrongdoings, Tham must bear full responsibility for compensating OceanBank to the tune of more than VND41 billion (US$1.7 million).

According to the jury, Thuy was also the biggest accomplice of Tham in this case, as she directed the accounting and PR divisions to commit wrongdoings, approved payments in 44 fake contracts worth VND133 billion ($5.6 million) and signed 15 others worth VND60 billion ($2.5 million). Thus, she is responsible for the losses of VND106 billion.  VNS

Former OceanBank chairman gets extra 15 years behind bars

Former chairman of Ocean Commercial Bank (OceanBank) Ha Van Tham was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison on charges of breaking lending violations, resulting in a loss of US$3.9 million at the Hanoi-based bank.