The Supreme People's Procuracy has indicted Le Thuy Hang, the former CEO of Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC), on charges of embezzlement and abuse of power.

=>> List of 16 defendants

Hang faces four primary accusations: illicitly incorporating raw gold into the production of SJC gold bars and rings; skimming gold while processing damaged gold for the State Bank of Vietnam; hoarding price-stabilized gold for resale at higher prices; and fabricating losses to embezzle company assets.

The indictment alleges Hang orchestrated these schemes with the assistance of subordinates in SJC's gold trading department, as well as employees at SJC's Central Region and Hai Phong branches and the Tan Thuan Jewelry Factory's gold workshop.

Specifically, the former CEO is accused of embezzling 23.2 billion VND by manipulating gold processing and directing the "buy low, sell high" scheme that created fabricated losses.

Furthermore, Hang allegedly abused her position to incorporate externally sourced raw gold into the production of 6,255 taels of SJC gold bars and 11,503 taels of gold rings. She also diverted price-stabilized gold to the open market, causing losses to the state of 95.7 billion VND.

Le Thuy Hang before her arrest. Photo: Screenshot from VTV video

Le Thuy Hang before her arrest. Photo: Screenshot from VTV video

The 55-year-old Hang served as SJC's CEO from 12/2019. Since 2012, SJC has held a near-monopoly on the gold market, controlling nearly 97% of transactions, and was designated the national gold bar brand by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). SJC was authorized by the SBV to process damaged SJC gold bars, produce SJC gold rings, sell price-stabilized SJC gold bars, and independently determine gold bar prices, but was not permitted to import or mint new gold bars.

In 5/2024, amid domestic gold price fluctuations, Hang, at an Ho Chi Minh City economic and social press conference, stated that the "gold bar monopoly did not benefit SJC and even tarnished the company's reputation with accusations of profiteering," advocating for its removal. She also proposed allowing businesses to import gold to secure raw materials and address gold smuggling concerns.

Four months later, she was arrested on initial charges of embezzlement, including allegations of exploiting the monopoly for personal gain. Concurrently, the SBV initiated inspections of SJC, three other businesses, and two banks involved in gold trading.

A year later, the inspection report revealed numerous violations at SJC, concluding that gold prices were subject to Hang's sole discretion. Her direct control over SJC's gold pricing, given the company's dominant market share, created significant market risks.

Exploiting the Monopoly for Fraudulent Gold Processing

The indictment states that in 5/2024, the SBV commissioned SJC to process 10 tons of gold bars from the company's raw gold reserves. Hang subsequently submitted processing quotes to the SBV with four pricing tiers based on daily production volume, ranging from 141,631 to 202,881 VND per unit. These quotes included a gold loss allowance of 0.0005 chi per unit (equivalent to 40,000 VND) for production exceeding 1,001 units.

To justify these quotes, Hang instructed subordinates to backdate a report establishing the gold loss allowance by three years.

SJC's Central Region branch. Photo: SJC

SJC's Central Region branch. Photo: SJC

Based on SJC's documentation, the SBV's Finance and Accounting Department assessed the processing costs, setting the 2024 SJC gold bar processing price at 148,057 VND per tael, including a 16,532 VND loss allowance.

In mid-2024, the SBV delivered 10 tons of raw gold (equivalent to 266,666 taels) to SJC in two installments for processing into one-tael gold bars.

Before commencing processing, Hang mandated the 0.0005 chi/unit loss allowance. Tran Tan Phat (Deputy Director of the Tan Thuan Jewelry Factory's gold workshop) was tasked with managing and reporting gold loss and surplus to Hang.

To implement this allowance, the gold workshop requested additional raw gold from SJC to compensate for processing losses. Following Hang's approval, SJC supplied the workshop with a total of 133,333 taels of 99.99% gold across the two production runs.

During production, goldsmith team leader Doan Le Thanh calculated the daily surplus gold loss and gave it to Phat, accumulating 91 taels. At the end of each production run, Phat transferred this surplus gold to the workshop to produce five-chi SJC gold rings, which he then delivered directly to Hang instead of returning them to SJC.

Based on SJC's lowest buy-back price for gold rings on 31/8/2024 (77.3 million VND/tael), the 91 taels of SJC gold rings were valued at 7 billion VND, according to the indictment.

Nearly 5 Taels of Gold Embezzled After Workshop Sweeping

After the two SBV gold processing runs, the gold workshop conducted its routine sweeping and recovered 4.8521 taels of 99.99% gold. To report the gold loss and recovery from 9/2023 to 8/2024 to SJC, Phat provided the collected data to accountant Mai Thanh Quang for a consolidated report.

SJC gold bars at the Ho Chi Minh City headquarters, 3/2025. Photo: Quynh Tran

SJC gold bars at the Ho Chi Minh City headquarters, 3/2025. Photo: Quynh Tran

However, Phat used the 13 taels of withheld gold from the SBV processing and the 4.8521 taels recovered from sweeping (totaling 17.852 taels) to create three small gold bars. Instead of returning these to SJC, Phat gave them to Hang.

Hang then sold the gold through SJC's wholesale jewelry department, generating 1.3 billion VND, the indictment states.

According to the Supreme People's Procuracy, Hang, as SJC's CEO, was responsible for overseeing all operations and managing the assets of both the company and the Tan Thuan Jewelry Factory's gold workshop. However, she allegedly abused her authority by directing subordinates to falsify reports, inflating the gold loss allowance during processing from 0.00007 chi/unit to 0.0005 chi.

After the two processing runs, Hang reported a total gold loss of 133,333 taels to the SBV, which subsequently paid SJC nearly 40 billion VND for the processing.

In total, Hang caused losses to the state of 95.7 billion VND and personally profited 73.5 billion VND.

During the investigation and prosecution, authorities seized 429.55 taels and 1,095.88 grams of gold, and 28.4 billion VND surrendered by the defendants and related individuals. Six of Hang's properties and two of Phat's apartments were also seized.

Pham Du