Khai, of Ha Dong District's Kien Hung Ward, who was an executive of the Kenh Dao Branch of the bank, was charged with embezzlement and gambling.
Two other officials of the bank, Nguyen Thanh Hai, 32, and Le Van Hien, 44, were sentenced to life imprisonment for the same charge. Hai was an executive of the bank’s Huong Son Branch, while Hien was head of the accounting and treasury department.
The three other defendants were Nguyen Van Nghi, 49, Tran Van Hai, 47, and Hoang Huu Hop, 34, who were prosecuted for “being irresponsible and causing serious consequences”. They were given sentences of 3-4 years in prison.
Nghi was director of the Kenh Dao Branch, Hai was Nghi’s deputy, and Hop was an executive of the Huong Son Branch.
Most of the defendants were addicted to gambling, mostly illegal football betting.
The police are hunting for another defendant in the case, Pham Van Quyet, who has been indicted for running a gambling den but has fled from his residence in Hanoi. He is alleged to have lured the other defendants into gambling.
Pham Van Quyet and the wanted notice for him (Photo: An Ninh Thu Do)
According to the indictment, all the defendants colluded with each other to make false transactions to withdraw a total amount of VND45.84 billion (nearly $2.2 million) from 177 saving accounts at the bank from February to May 2011.
The court blamed loose management by the bank for the appropriation by the defendants, who spent most of the money on football gambling and personal needs.
At the trial, all the defendants showed their repentance and begged for clemency, but since the damage they had caused was enormous and could not be recovered, the court announced one death sentence and two life sentences to three of them.