Former SJC general director indicted over illegal production of over 6,200 gold bars

Hang was charged with embezzlement and abuse of power while performing official duties.

In addition to Hang, several former SJC officials have also been indicted on similar charges. 

These include Mai Quoc Uy Vien, director of the SJC Gold Factory; Tran Tan Phat, deputy director of the factory; Hoang Le Hue, director of SJC central region branch; and Doan Le Thanh, head of the gold casting team at Tan Thuan factory.

Five other individuals, including Tran Hien Phuc, chief accountant of SJC, Nguyen Thi Loc, accountant at the central region branch, and Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, manager of the 193 Hung Vuong store, have been charged with embezzlement.

Another six individuals, including Nguyen Thi Hue, director of the Hai Phong branch, are facing charges of abuse of power.

According to the indictment, Hang and her accomplices exploited their positions to embezzle assets and gain illicit profits during the reprocessing of damaged SJC gold bars, the production of SJC gold rings, and the sale of gold bullion under a government price stabilization program.

The total damage to SJC was estimated at over VND107 billion (US$4.1 million).

In mid-2024, the State Bank of Vietnam provided SJC with 10 tonnes of raw gold for the production of SJC-branded gold bars.

However, Hang allegedly abused her authority by directing the gold factory’s leadership to submit falsified reports inflating gold loss ratios during production.

Hang also directed Tran Hien Phuc, chief accountant of SJC, to use the falsified reports as a basis to draft and legitimize the issuance date of a new regulation on allowable production losses, which was then applied during the gold processing operations.

This allowed the group to misappropriate 95 taels of gold under the pretext of production losses. 

Hang herself is accused of taking more than 85 taels, worth VND6.6 billion ($250,057).

A gold tael equals approximately 1.2 troy ounces.

She also directed Hoang Le Hue to falsify documents showing the purchase of gold at high prices and sales at low prices, thereby fabricating a financial loss and embezzling VND3.2 billion ($121,239) from the central region branch. 

Hang allegedly pocketed VND2.1 billion ($79,559) from this scheme.

Driven by personal gain, Hang further ordered the purchase and covert transfer of external raw gold to deputy factory director Tran Tan Phat for unauthorized inclusion in 56 production batches of reprocessed gold bullion.

These batches resulted in the illegal production of 6,255 SJC gold bars. 

This operation caused a reported loss of VND74.8 billion ($2.8 million) in state assets, with Hang pocketing VND64 billion ($2.4 million).

Hang also instructed Nguyen Thi Hue, director of the Hai Phong branch, to purchase raw gold from outside sources and supply it to Phat for the unauthorized production of over 11,000 SJC gold rings.

This act allegedly caused a state asset loss of VND15 billion ($568,330), from which Hang personally gained VND6.6 billion ($250,065).

Additionally, Hang directed Nguyen Thi Hue, Hoang Le Hue, and Tran Ngoc Minh Thu, head of SJC's gold trading department, to sell only a portion of price-stabilized gold to customers. The remainder was sold at higher prices, violating government pricing policies.

Between mid-June and the end of August 2024, the Hai Phong and central region branches, along with the gold trading department, fabricated records showing the sale of 7,000 taels of gold to 4,342 customers. This scheme reportedly caused a state asset loss of VND5.7 billion ($215,958).

In total, Hang’s actions are accused of causing VND95.7 billion ($3.6 million) in losses to state assets, from which she personally gained VND73.5 billion (2.8 million).