Vietnamese banking tycoon proposed 30-year imprisonment

Vietnam's capital Hanoi People's Procuracy on Tuesday read the impeachment and proposed 30-year imprisonment to Nguyen Duc Kien, a banking tycoon in Vietnam.

Kien, born in 1964, co-founder of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and one of Vietnam's biggest lenders, was taken into custody on Aug. 20, 2012.

According to the impeachment, Kien was proposed from 18 to 24 months in prison for illegal business, and a fine of 25 to 30 million Vietnamese dong (1,180 to 1,420 U.S. dollars).

The former top Vietnamese banking businessman was proposed four to five years in prison for tax evasion and 24 billion Vietnamese dong (1.13 million U.S. dollars) in arrears collection with a fine of twice or three times as much as how much tax he evaded.

A total of 14 to 15 years in prison was offered for Kien for the charge of intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences and 16 to 18 years in prison for fraudulent appropriation of property.

The total penalty proposed for Kien was up to 30 years imprisonment. In addition, Kien will be prohibited from holding relevant positions in three to five years, said the impeachment.

For the rest defendants, the procuracy offered from three-year probation to 10-year imprisonment to those who were charged with fraudulent appropriation of property and intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.

In the impeachment, the procuracy's representative said the prosecution of Kien and his accomplices for the above-mentioned indictments is completely right, following law's regulations.

For the act of illegal business at the trial as well as during investigation process, Kien said that he did not trade gold but trade gold price. However, the procuracy said there are enough bases to conclude that Kien's act of trading gold status and stock is guilty.

Of the three charges of fraudulent appropriation of property, tax evasion and illegal business, Kien was the author who played the main role with a huge amount of money.

For the charge of intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences. Kien admitted that he had an important role in ACB although from 2008, he has not held the position in the bank.

The impeachment said during investment process and at the trial, the defendant has denied all his guilt, remaining contumacious and dishonest.

Kien should be isolated out of social life for a long time, said the procuracy.

As to Tran Xuan Gia, one of the defendants, who is in serious health condition and his case was suspended, the procuray did not offer the sanction, state-run news agency VNA reported on Tuesday.

The trial, starting on May 20, is expected to last for two weeks.

On Aug. 20, 2012, Nguyen Duc Kien's arrest on suspicion of conducting illegal business activities triggered a dramatic fall on the country's stock markets.

The information about Kien's arrest resulted in the country's stock market tumble and sparked concerns about the operations of several local banks, where he reportedly held shares (including ACB, where he once served as the vice chairman of the board).

On Aug. 21, 2012 right after local media reported of the arrest, both Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HOSE) and Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) saw their Vn-Index and HNX-Index tumble 5 percent on average against the previous trading day's closing session. This has been the sharpest fall since the Vietnam stock market operated in 2000, according to a Vietnamese stock's technical analyst.

Kien once was one of the 20 richest people in Vietnam based on stock reports.