In Vietnam’s sweeping crackdown on corruption, top soft drink tycoon Tran Qui Thanh, chairman of beverage group Tan Hiep Phat, was sentenced to eight years in prison for a $40 million fraud case, on Thursday.
Thanh and his daughters were found guilty of deceiving investors in loans issued between 2019 and 2020, manipulating assets put up as collateral. Despite borrowers repaying with interest, Thanh refused to return the assets, citing contract breaches.
“Thanh, the 71-year-old chairman of beverage group Tan Hiep Phat, was ruled to have masterminded scams to appropriate assets put up as collateral against loans,” state media reported.
The court sentenced Thanh’s 43-year-old daughter, Tran Uyen Phuong, the company’s deputy CEO, to four years in jail.
Younger daughter Tran Ngoc Bich, 40, was given a suspended three-year jail sentence.
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In his final words before the court, Thanh said he regretted what happened and was ready to take responsibility.
“I would like to be given leniency, handing me the chance to come back to society soon for my continued work and devotion,” Thanh said.
The communist nation’s wide-ranging campaign to wipe out endemic graft has seen more than 4,400 people charged with criminal offences, including officials and senior business figures.
Some of Vietnam’s most successful business leaders have been snared in the graft purge.
