Eximbank under fire after string of embezzlement
Eximbank under fire after string of embezzlement
The lawyer of the six customers from whom an officer of Eximbank stole VND48 billion ($2.1 million) ask for repayment in full before the case goes on trial in April.
The case of Nguyen Thi Lam, an officer of Eximbank’s Do Luong branch (Vinh city, Nghe An province), appropriating VND48 billion ($2.1 million) from the savings books of six customers was concluded by the investigation agency in August 2017. Recently, the lawyer of these six customers has met the leaders of Eximbank.
The lawyer told Vnexpress, that, “At the meeting, I represented the six swindled customers to ask Eximbank to repay the VND48 billion ($2.1 million) in full before starting the trial. The leaders of the bank asked to hold another meeting this week whereby they can respond via an official document.”
In the conclusions of the investigation, the police of Nghe An province said that officers in Do Luong branch had deliberately violated regulations on withdrawals so that Nguyen Thi Lam could withdraw the funds before these saving books could reach maturity. Thereby, the investigation agency asked Eximbank to take responsibility for damages caused by its employees and compensate the customers for the total amount lost.
Earlier, in September 2016, the police of Nghe An province arrested Nguyen Thi Lam on the charge of “abusing trust to appropriate property.” She had been working at this branch for five years and collected several close customers.
Lam usually invited VIP guests to the bank to sign first and completed documents later. Using these signatures, Lam had composed withdrawal orders herself and submitted completed documentations to the leaders.
According to investigation results, Lam appropriated more than VND50 billion ($2.2 million) from various customers (including the VND48 billion of the six clients) between 2012 and 2016. Relevant to this case, the agency also arrested Dang Dinh Hong, former director of the Do Luong branch, for “irresponsibility causing serious consequences.” However, he was released later.
Related to cases of funds going missing at Eximbank, last week a customer named Bui To Loan reported that her three gold taels at the bank disappeared. Eximbank promised to pay her in 2013, while she was still holding the accounts.
In an other recent case, Le Nguyen Hung, former deputy director of an Eximbank branch in Ho Chi Minh city, appropriated more than VND245 billion ($10.8 billion) from Chu Thi Binh, a longtime client of the bank who used to be the richest woman on the stock market.
Last week, Eximbank offered $650,000 advance compensation to her, but Binh declined and asked the bank to repay her the full amount lost. Eximbank did not agree, bidding her to wait for the conclusions of the court trial.
