Pham Thi Hoa, former chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Sen Tai Thu Vietnam Group Joint Stock Company, along with Nguyen Thi Thuy Linh, former deputy general director; Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, former general director; and Nguyen Thanh Tu, have been indicted by the Hanoi People's Procuracy for fraudulent appropriation of assets.

In the same case, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lan, a freelancer, faces charges of both fraudulent appropriation of assets and money laundering.

The five individuals will be tried at the Hanoi People's Court.

Pham Thi Hoa. Photo: Sen Tai Thu

According to the indictment, from october 2020 to june 2023, driven by personal debt and expenses, Hoa, Linh, and Huong conspired to inflate Sen Tai Thu Group’s charter capital. Their objective was to raise capital by having Hoa sign share transfer agreements with a fixed term.

The defendants hired collaborators, employees, and sales agents, providing them with false information about the company's business strategy for them to use in consultations and presentations. The sales team promoted Sen Tai Thu Group as highly successful, expanding its branches, and generating high profits. Investors who contributed funds to the company through share transfer agreements were promised high dividends and interest rates.

Linh and Huong presented attractive investment interest rate tables to clients, ranging from 9% to 13,5%, depending on the contract term. They guaranteed timely profit payments and allowed investors early capital withdrawal.

Authorities allege that in reality, after investing in Sen Tai Thu Group, investors did not receive shareholder rights or registration in the shareholder register. Through these deceptive tactics, from october 2020 to june 2023, 459 investors transferred a total of over 1,726 billion VND by signing share transfer contracts with Hoa at the company.

Upon receiving the funds, Hoa and her subordinates used over 737,2 billion VND to pay a portion of the returns to investors. The remaining over 988 billion VND was entirely misappropriated by Hoa and her accomplices.

Currently, 266 victims have filed complaints regarding money transfers to Sen Tai Thu Group for share transfer contracts, totaling over 971 billion VND. Of this amount, the defendants repaid over 213 billion VND to them.

The procuracy asserts that Hoa, Linh, and Huong are responsible for returning their illicit gains to compensate the 266 victims, totaling over 757 billion VND.

During the investigation, Hoa stated that she trusted Huong and Linh's proposals. She then personally signed her share transfer contracts to raise capital, aiming to cover personal debts and business expenses, which ultimately led to insolvency.

Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, former general director of Sen Tai Thu. Photo: Sen Tai Thu

Beyond the fraud, the procuracy determined that defendants Lan and Tu had no authority, responsibility, or ability to "influence legal proceedings." However, these two individuals provided false information, claiming extensive connections with high-ranking officials to help Huong avoid criminal prosecution or receive a reduced sentence.

Lan and Tu subsequently received 26 billion VND from Huong. After receiving the funds to influence legal proceedings, Lan and Huong gave one billion VND to a lawyer for legal consultation for Huong.

Lan misappropriated the remaining 25 billion VND, using it to purchase an apartment in Royal City for 9,5 billion VND and depositing the rest in a savings account under her daughter's name to conceal the illicit origin of the criminal proceeds.

Sen Tai Thu was established in 1992, originating from the Sen Tai Thu Health Care Center – Central Acupuncture Hospital. The company operates eight facilities across Hanoi, Thai Binh, and Da Nang, specializing in traditional medicine therapy for health care.