(Nov 22): Vietnamese authorities are aggressively stepping up criminal proceedings of former real estate executives whose cases upended the nation’s property and bond markets.

The government announced Wednesday the Supreme People’s Procuracy is prosecuting Hanoi-based Tan Hoang Minh Group’s ex-chairman Do Anh Dung and other defendants on charges of fraudulently appropriating about 8.6 trillion dong (RM1.7 billion) from 6,600 investors. Over the weekend, the Ministry of Public Security accused former chairwoman of real estate behemoth Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, of allegedly appropriating more than US$12.5 billion (RM58.48 billion).

An anti-corruption committee led by Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong ordered officials on Wednesday to issue indictments tied to Van Thinh Phat and a fraud case involving Trinh Van Quyet, former chairman of Bamboo Airways and FLC Group JSC, by the end of the year, according to a statement on the government’s website. The committee also asked for trials in the Tan Hoang Minh Group case and three other separate investigations.

Police probes of Tan Hoang Minh Group and Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group that began last year rippled across the nation’s economy, leading to a dramatic slowdown in the bond market amid new regulations and a stalled real estate sector.

The arrest of Lan and other company officials, who were believed to have connections with Saigon Commercial Bank, also known as SCB, led to a brief bank run last year. Police on Saturday disclosed Lan held a controlling stake of more than 90% in the bank.

Vietnam’s 2023 corporate bond sales through Sept 15 totalled 123 trillion dong, or 60.4% lower than in the same period a year earlier, according to the finance ministry. The volume of bonds bought back by issuers prior to their maturities reached 169 trillion dong, or 1.4 times higher than a year ago. The real estate sector constitutes about a third of Vietnam’s corporate bond issuance.

Representatives of Dung, Lan and Quyet weren’t immediately available for comment.

Police are also seeking to prosecute 85 others in the case allegedly involving Van Thinh Phat, SCB and related units. Do Thi Nhan, a former head of the State Bank’s inspection and supervision unit, is accused of accepting as much as US$5.2 million in bribes, the government said. A representative of Nhan could not be reached.

Twenty-four members of a government inspection group have been accused of taking bribes to cover up SCB violations, news website VnExpress reported, citing information from the Ministry of Public Security’s investigation report.

In the Tan Hoang Minh case, Dung and others are charged with issuing nine bond offerings with a total value of 10.3 trillion dong through three units and other companies and using the proceeds for business activities other than those stated in the bond issuance filing, according to a statement on the government’s website.