6-8-2024 (HANOI) In a landmark ruling that underscores Vietnam’s intensifying anti-corruption drive, former property and aviation magnate Trinh Van Quyet has been handed a 21-year prison sentence for his role in a massive fraud and stock market manipulation scheme. The case, involving a staggering US$146 million, marks another chapter in the communist nation’s ongoing efforts to root out corruption within its business elite.
The Hanoi People’s Court found Quyet, the erstwhile owner of the FLC empire – a conglomerate spanning luxury resorts, golf courses, and the budget airline Bamboo Airways – guilty of orchestrating the elaborate financial fraud. The court’s verdict, as reported by the Tuoi Tre newspaper, emphasised the severity of the punishment, stating that Quyet received the harshest sentence due to his leadership role in the scam.
“Through the stock market, the defendants proceeded with fraudulence… leading to mistrust for investors and the stock market, causing anger in society,” the court declared, underscoring the far-reaching impact of the defendants’ actions.
The trial, which began on 22 July and involved an unprecedented 100 lawyers, saw a total of 50 defendants convicted. Among them were two of Quyet’s sisters and four stock exchange officials, with sentences ranging from 14 years’ imprisonment to a 15-month suspended sentence.
According to the prosecution, Quyet’s modus operandi involved establishing multiple stock market brokerages and registering dozens of family members as traders. The scheme hinged on placing numerous buy orders for shares across hundreds of trading sessions, artificially inflating stock values, only to cancel these orders before they could be matched.
The court determined that between 2017 and 2022, Quyet had illegally amassed over US$146 million through this fraudulent activity. The magnitude of the scam was further highlighted by the court’s revelation that it had impacted some 25,000 victims.
One such victim, a stock trader from Hanoi who wished to be identified only as Trung, shared his experience with AFP. Having lost nearly US$8,000 on FLC group-related stocks, Trung expressed his support for the court’s decision: “What Quyet and others have done, manipulating the stock market, must be duly punished.”
In a poignant moment before the court, Quyet expressed remorse for his actions. As reported by VnExpress, he stated, “What I did will haunt me my whole life.” He claimed his initial motivation was to improve the lives of ordinary Vietnamese through ambitious development projects.
The court did acknowledge the positive economic impact of FLC group’s investments in remote and impoverished areas, which had created thousands of jobs. However, this consideration was evidently outweighed by the gravity of the financial crimes committed.
This case is part of a broader anti-corruption campaign that has seen several high-profile convictions in recent months. Notable among these was the death sentence handed down to a top property tycoon in April for a US$27 billion fraud case, and the eight-year imprisonment of a soft drinks company head for a US$40 million fraud in the same month.
