Vietnamese billionaire tycoon found guilty of defrauding stockholders, sentenced to 21 years

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A prominent Vietnamese business tycoon was found guilty Monday of defrauding stockholders of nearly $150 million by falsely inflating the value of his company, in a case that comes as the government cracks down on widespread corruption in the country.

The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Trinh Van Quyet, 48, to 21 years in prison after a two-week trial that included 49 defendants who were named as accomplices, state-run VN Express reported. It was not immediately clear whether Quyet, who was arrested in 2022, would appeal.

The billionaire was the chairman and founder of the FLC Group, which owns the discount Bamboo Airways and has broad real estate holdings including hotels, resorts and golf courses, among other assets.

According to the indictment, Quyet fraudulently inflated the value of the group’s general contractor subsidiary, FLC Faros, by reporting fictitious capital contributions, before taking the company public in 2016.

In the initial public offering, the company sold some 391 million shares to about 30,000 investors, defrauding them of 3.6 trillion Vietnamese dong (about $144 million) according to the indictment. Quyet’s co-defendants included multiple officials accused of being complicit in the scheme by approving and facilitating the initial public offering despite knowing of discrepancies in the figures.

All co-defendants were found guilty of various charges, with sentences ranging from probation to multiple years in prison.

Quyet’s sisters Trinh Thi Minh Hue and Trinh Thi Thuy Nga were convicted on the same charges as him and were given sentences of 14 years and 8 years in prison respectively.

The former chairman of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Tran Dac Sinh, deputy CEO Le Hai Tra, and