The leading soft drink magnate in Vietnam was sentenced to eight years in prison on Thursday in connection with a $40 million fraud case. He is the most well-known businessman to be caught up in the nation’s massive anti-corruption campaign.
More than 4,400 individuals, including politicians and prominent businesspeople, have been charged with crimes as a result of the communist country’s extensive battle to eradicate widespread graft.
Tran Qui Thanh and his two daughters were found guilty by a Ho Chi Minh City court of defrauding investors about loans that were given out in 2019 and 2020.
According to state media, Thanh, the 71-year-old chairman of the beverage company Tan Hiep Phat, was found to have masterminded schemes to pilfer assets pledged as security for loans.
For a variety of reasons, including that they had lost their right to repurchase the assets as a result of contract violations, Thanh would not return the assets, even after the borrowers had paid the money back plus interest.
The deputy CEO of the company, Tran Uyen Phuong, 43, was sentenced to four years in prison by the court.
Tran Ngoc Bich, 40, the younger daughter, received a three-year jail sentence that is suspended.
One of the largest beverage firms in Vietnam, Tan Hiep Phat is well-known for its selection of energy drinks and bottled tea.
In his parting remarks to the court, Thanh expressed sorry for the incident and his willingness to accept responsibility.
“I would like to be given leniency, handing me the chance to come back to society soon for my continued work and devotion,” Thanh was said to have said.
When reading the verdict in court on Thursday, Judge Huynh Van Truc stated that the defendants’ conduct had “caused danger to society”.
“The defendants were well aware that their behaviour would be punished by law but they had deliberately committed the crime,” remarked the court.
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