On 22/6, Tran Tuan, 39, former Director of the Individual Customer Segment at the Le Trong Tan transaction office – Tan Phu branch of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), was tried by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court for fraudulent appropriation of property. According to the indictment, from 2/2023 to 8/2023, after incurring losses from participating in virtual gold trading platforms, Tuan abused his position and the prestige of a bank officer to borrow money from many individuals.

In 8/2023, Tuan asked to borrow 3 billion VND from Ms. Anh and her husband, citing the need to perform bank loan settlement services. He promised to repay the amount after three days and offered a 10 million VND fee for each loan.

Subsequently, Tuan fabricated a story that Ms. Anh and her husband needed to sell their house in Tan Son Nhi ward for 3.5 billion VND at a low price and introduced another acquaintance as a buyer. Although Ms. Anh and her husband had no intention of selling property, Tuan persuaded them to sign a 3 billion VND deposit contract, claiming it was a "simulated" arrangement to allow him to process a 3 billion VND bank loan settlement, which he would repay after three days.

Trusting him, Ms. Anh and her husband signed the deposit contract, then received 3 billion VND from the homebuyer and transferred the entire sum to Tuan's account.

The defendant Tran Tuan at today's trial. Photo: Binh Nguyen

Similarly, that same evening, Tuan told Mr. Hien, a bank employee, that Ms. Anh and her husband needed to borrow 3 billion VND to settle a loan at ACB before transferring it to another bank. Believing this information, Mr. Hien lent 3 billion VND to Ms. Anh and her husband, but the money was actually transferred to Tuan.

Investigative authorities determined that after receiving a total of 6 billion VND from these transactions, Tuan deposited 2.8 billion VND into the Trustmarket virtual gold platform, losing it all. The remaining money was used to repay debts and for personal expenses.

According to the indictment, Tuan also committed fraudulent acts against Ms. Thuan, an ACB client. Knowing Ms. Thuan had a 5.65 billion VND loan with two properties mortgaged at the bank, Tuan lied, claiming a client needed money for loan settlement. He asked her to stand as the nominal borrower for a 5.65 billion VND loan, promising to repay it within three days and cover all associated costs.

Subsequently, Tuan contacted Mr. Long, another acquaintance, providing false information about Ms. Thuan's financial status. He proposed mortgaging two properties to Mr. Long to borrow 5.65 billion VND.

Believing him, both then signed a deposit contract. This money was ultimately transferred to Tuan's account.

Authorities determined that the defendant used the entire sum for football betting via the 188BET website and stock market investments, both resulting in losses.

Furthermore, on 10/8/2023, Tuan again asked Ms. Thuan to sign a mortgage contract for two properties to borrow an additional 5.65 billion VND from another person. After receiving the money, the defendant continued to use it for debt repayment and personal expenses.

According to the prosecution, Tuan defrauded multiple victims of a total of over 17.3 billion VND. Those involved who were unaware of Tuan's fraudulent intentions and did not benefit from the criminal act were not considered for criminal liability.

During the investigation and at today's trial, Tuan admitted to all his criminal acts. The victims demanded full compensation for the misappropriated funds, but the defendant has not significantly rectified the consequences to date.

However, after the questioning phase, the Judicial Panel found that the case still had many details requiring clarification and decided to return the file for further investigation.

Hai Duyen