Vietnam jails former officials over gold bar graft: state media / Photo: HOANG DINH NAM - AFP/File
RBGPF
-13.5000
Zürcher Nachrichten - Vietnam jails former officials over gold bar graft: state media
EUR
-
AED 4.257664
AFN 73.026624
ALL 96.238144
AMD 437.582231
ANG 2.074968
AOA 1062.937298
ARS 1598.08421
AUD 1.645579
AWG 2.089361
AZN 1.97515
BAM 1.95864
BBD 2.333975
BDT 142.192527
BGN 1.981339
BHD 0.43431
BIF 3442.663586
BMD 1.159146
BND 1.482068
BOB 8.007716
BRL 6.159011
BSD 1.158876
BTN 108.338579
BWP 15.802121
BYN 3.515914
BYR 22719.261378
BZD 2.33067
CAD 1.591566
CDF 2637.057544
CHF 0.913917
CLF 0.027244
CLP 1075.745893
CNY 7.982348
CNH 8.005172
COP 4303.433806
CRC 541.282631
CUC 1.159146
CUP 30.717369
CVE 111.1046
CZK 24.515015
DJF 206.003881
DKK 7.48519
DOP 68.390029
DZD 152.108556
EGP 59.995792
ERN 17.38719
ETB 182.160246
FJD 2.566871
FKP 0.868268
GBP 0.86899
GEL 3.147128
GGP 0.868268
GHS 12.640533
GIP 0.868268
GMD 85.201694
GNF 10174.408376
GTQ 8.876835
GYD 242.454744
HKD 9.082315
HNL 30.787368
HRK 7.547552
HTG 152.028504
HUF 393.739159
IDR 19654.711213
ILS 3.60393
IMP 0.868268
INR 109.016
IQD 1518.481245
IRR 1525001.44174
ISK 144.047519
JEP 0.868268
JMD 182.063242
JOD 0.82188
JPY 184.581294
KES 150.229726
KGS 101.364887
KHR 4648.175821
KMF 494.955743
KPW 1043.174412
KRW 1744.874492
KWD 0.35536
KYD 0.965713
KZT 557.135552
LAK 24904.251971
LBP 103801.523689
LKR 361.50269
LRD 212.558441
LSL 19.717515
LTL 3.422657
LVL 0.701156
LYD 7.395793
MAD 10.850191
MDL 20.181528
MGA 4833.639175
MKD 61.634787
MMK 2433.943509
MNT 4137.774242
MOP 9.354025
MRU 46.516967
MUR 53.904625
MVR 17.920835
MWK 2013.436982
MXN 20.747095
MYR 4.565921
MZN 74.073751
NAD 19.508864
NGN 1572.092184
NIO 42.564277
NOK 11.093021
NPR 173.341379
NZD 1.985179
OMR 0.442313
PAB 1.158896
PEN 4.032714
PGK 4.997948
PHP 69.723065
PKR 323.63785
PLN 4.282755
PYG 7568.943802
QAR 4.224512
RON 5.101986
RSD 117.884032
RUB 96.003268
RWF 1691.193997
SAR 4.352659
SBD 9.33305
SCR 16.654324
SDG 696.647132
SEK 10.831104
SGD 1.486377
SHP 0.86966
SLE 28.486057
SLL 24306.724357
SOS 662.456177
SRD 43.45349
STD 23991.981659
STN 24.939026
SVC 10.139705
SYP 128.393177
SZL 19.508855
THB 38.008825
TJS 11.130786
TMT 4.068602
TND 3.372
TOP 2.790945
TRY 51.328032
TTD 7.862368
TWD 37.135217
TZS 2998.321243
UAH 50.766603
UGX 4380.333447
USD 1.159146
UYU 46.697721
UZS 14135.785719
VES 527.05282
VND 30499.449254
VUV 137.980492
WST 3.180888
XAF 656.918161
XAG 0.017031
XAU 0.000257
XCD 3.13265
XCG 2.08852
XDR 0.81819
XOF 661.296951
XPF 119.331742
YER 276.576393
ZAR 19.853279
ZMK 10433.709028
ZMW 22.627107
ZWL 373.244535
- After Cuba beckons, Miami entrepreneurs are mostly reluctant to invest in the island
- Peru's crowded presidential race zeroes in on organized crime
- Taiwan's Lin to compete in first international event since Paris gender row
- BTS takes over central Seoul for comeback concert
- Jury signals tech titans on hook for social media addiction
- Brumbies mark Slipper record in thriller against Chiefs
- Trump says considering 'winding down' Iran war, US eases oil sanctions
- US jury finds Elon Musk misled Twitter shareholders
- Gauff rallies to avance at Miami Open
- WNBA, players union confirm agreement on 'groundbreaking' labor deal
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.
A.Senn--NZN
