Vietnam jails former officials over gold bar graft: state media / Photo: © AFP/File
BCC
-0.8850
The China Mail - Vietnam jails former officials over gold bar graft: state media
USD
-
AED 3.673021
AFN 64.500085
ALL 81.04013
AMD 377.570287
ANG 1.79008
AOA 916.999994
ARS 1397.0363
AUD 1.411761
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.703608
BAM 1.646095
BBD 2.014569
BDT 122.333554
BGN 1.67937
BHD 0.37706
BIF 2955
BMD 1
BND 1.261126
BOB 6.911847
BRL 5.198602
BSD 1.000215
BTN 90.656892
BWP 13.115002
BYN 2.867495
BYR 19600
BZD 2.011792
CAD 1.36276
CDF 2239.999889
CHF 0.769655
CLF 0.021703
CLP 856.959793
CNY 6.90065
CNH 6.899875
COP 3671.49
CRC 487.566753
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 94.875032
CZK 20.441008
DJF 177.720273
DKK 6.297485
DOP 62.625011
DZD 129.608487
EGP 46.847504
ERN 15
ETB 155.049838
EUR 0.84285
FJD 2.190198
FKP 0.732521
GBP 0.734545
GEL 2.689918
GGP 0.732521
GHS 11.005031
GIP 0.732521
GMD 73.505048
GNF 8779.999507
GTQ 7.671623
GYD 209.274433
HKD 7.816415
HNL 26.505018
HRK 6.350102
HTG 130.97728
HUF 319.496499
IDR 16823
ILS 3.063925
IMP 0.732521
INR 90.598499
IQD 1310.5
IRR 42125.000158
ISK 122.380273
JEP 0.732521
JMD 156.251973
JOD 0.709007
JPY 152.839791
KES 129.000569
KGS 87.450047
KHR 4030.0002
KMF 414.99991
KPW 899.988812
KRW 1440.150231
KWD 0.30671
KYD 0.833596
KZT 494.926752
LAK 21445.000487
LBP 85549.999541
LKR 309.456576
LRD 186.550345
LSL 15.859536
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 6.302627
MAD 9.138749
MDL 16.94968
MGA 4429.99998
MKD 51.932021
MMK 2100.304757
MNT 3579.516219
MOP 8.054945
MRU 39.900536
MUR 45.90247
MVR 15.460255
MWK 1736.501794
MXN 17.240225
MYR 3.902498
MZN 63.910195
NAD 15.960282
NGN 1352.320109
NIO 36.715003
NOK 9.53845
NPR 145.04947
NZD 1.658005
OMR 0.384491
PAB 1.000332
PEN 3.35497
PGK 4.298499
PHP 58.090162
PKR 279.600947
PLN 3.553435
PYG 6585.896503
QAR 3.64125
RON 4.291018
RSD 98.911047
RUB 77.223079
RWF 1452.5
SAR 3.750374
SBD 8.048395
SCR 13.452269
SDG 601.510014
SEK 8.92871
SGD 1.26305
SHP 0.750259
SLE 24.250324
SLL 20969.499267
SOS 571.501199
SRD 37.77903
STD 20697.981008
STN 20.95
SVC 8.752299
SYP 11059.574895
SZL 15.859726
THB 31.093501
TJS 9.417602
TMT 3.5
TND 2.83525
TOP 2.40776
TRY 43.647699
TTD 6.776109
TWD 31.448974
TZS 2599.999875
UAH 43.023284
UGX 3540.813621
UYU 38.353905
UZS 12299.999861
VES 388.253525
VND 25960
VUV 119.359605
WST 2.711523
XAF 552.10356
XAG 0.013313
XAU 0.000203
XCD 2.70255
XCG 1.802726
XDR 0.686599
XOF 549.501968
XPF 100.750245
YER 238.403969
ZAR 15.973595
ZMK 9001.200595
ZMW 18.555599
ZWL 321.999592
- What is going on with Iran-US talks?
- Wales 'means everything' for prop Francis despite champagne, oysters in France
- Giannis out and Spurs' Fox added to NBA All-Star Game
- The secret to an elephant's grace? Whiskers
- Chance glimpse of star collapse offers new insight into black hole formation
- UN climate chief says 'new world disorder' threatens cooperation
- Player feels 'sadness' after denied Augusta round with grandsons: report
- Trump dismantles legal basis for US climate rules
- Former Arsenal player Partey faces two more rape charges
- Scotland coach Townsend adamant focus on England rather than his job
Vietnam jails former officials over gold bar graft: state media
A court in Vietnam sentenced on Tuesday 16 people at its only state-sanctioned producer of gold bars to lengthy prison terms in a corruption case involving millions of dollars and hundreds of kilograms of bullion, state media reported.
State-owned Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) has maintained a monopoly on gold bullion production in Vietnam since 2012.
But the State Bank of Vietnam announced in August that it will allow qualified commercial banks and enterprises to churn out gold bars starting October 10, replacing the former state-exclusive mechanism.
The court ruled on Tuesday that SJC's former CEO, Le Thuy Hang, had pocketed $2.7 million and caused a loss of $4 million to state coffers and SJC "through a series of fraudulent schemes", according to state media.
At the end of a five-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Hang was sentenced to prison for 25 years for property embezzlement and abuse of power, the report said.
Her 15 accomplices -- all SJC staff -- were given prison terms ranging from two years, suspended, to more than 22 years on the same charges.
Between 2021 and 2024, Hang directed her subordinates to inflate the loss rate when processing 10 tonnes of SJC-branded gold bars, appropriating nearly 3.6 kilograms of gold.
They falsified documents to legalise the surplus gold and sold it for personal gain, according to the report.
The court also said that while handling dented gold bars assigned by the central bank to process, Hang had around 235 kilograms of SJC gold bars and tens of thousands of gold rings illegally manufactured and sold for profit.
Hang also ordered her staff to create a fake customer list to smuggle out about 34 kilograms of gold.
"The defendants had conducted very sophisticated acts, bypassing the tight monitor by the State Bank of Vietnam," VNExpress said, quoting the verdict.
"They had abused state policy and their power to violate the state gold management mechanism, causing instability to the market."
The defendants were ordered to pay back a total of about 640 kilograms of gold to the state, the court ruled.
Families and businesses in Vietnam have long relied on the precious metal as a store of value, personal savings and a hedge against currency depreciation.
Its price in Vietnam is typically higher than the global trading price due to local taxes and market distortions.
S.Davis--ThChM
