On 24/7, after more than a year of additional investigation, Vo Thi Phuong, 44, director of Sieu Thanh Co., Ltd.; and Tran Thi Thuy Trang, deputy director, were tried by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court for fraud and property appropriation.
The mastermind of the case, Trinh Minh Thanh, died during the investigation due to Covid-19, so the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department suspended the investigation against him.
About 400 of the nearly 500 victims were present at the court. Compared to the first trial early last year, the number of victims has increased by almost 100.
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Defendants Vo Thi Phuong (left) and Tran Thi Thuy Trang at the court. Photo: Hai Duyen |
The Nam An apartment project in Binh Tan district has three 20-story blocks, including four commercial floors and 16 apartment floors. It belongs to Sieu Thanh Co., Ltd., and was started in 2017. Construction stopped in 2020 and has not resumed.
According to the indictment, Thanh was the investor and managed all operations of Sieu Thanh Co., Ltd. At the end of 2017, he appointed Vo Thi Phuong (his sister-in-law) as director and legal representative of the company.
After the Nam An apartment project was licensed, Thanh only built the rough structure and did not continue construction as promised, but still signed apartment sales contracts with customers. During this process, he instructed Phuong to sign or stamp his pre-made signature on the apartment sales contracts, including some apartments sold to multiple individuals. Thanh used some of the money collected from customers to pay off debts and for other purposes.
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Hundreds of victims attended the trial. Photo: Hai Duyen |
As director, Phuong directly signed apartment sales contracts with 496 customers, collecting over 477 billion VND. Most of this money was given to Thanh to manage and use.
Authorities determined that Phuong only played a supporting role, having signed contracts for 18 apartments sold to 36 customers, and is responsible for 210 out of 477 billion VND. Tran Thi Thuy Trang, despite not being the legal representative or having legal authorization from the company, introduced herself as the company director during the project management process. She signed contracts to sell 42 apartments to 20 customers (including apartments previously signed by Phuong), misappropriating nearly 42 billion VND.
During the investigation, Thanh confessed to all of his criminal acts. However, he claimed to be unaware of Trang using the company's legal entity to fraudulently sign apartment sales contracts with customers. Upon discovery, Thanh had his staff warn customers.
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People accuse the investor of misappropriating money; the Nam An Apartment Project has been stalled for many years. Photo: Nhat Vy |
At the court, Phuong admitted to signing and stamping the sales contracts, but stated that all the money collected from customers was transferred to Thanh. She was only paid about 100 million VND.
Trang argued that she only misappropriated over 20 billion VND, not nearly 42 billion as concluded by the investigators.
The trial continued in the afternoon with questioning and is expected to last until 18/8.
Early last year, the case was brought to trial, but many people who claimed to be victims of Sieu Thanh Co., Ltd. were not summoned. Due to many arising issues, the court returned the file for further investigation.
Hai Duyen
