A HCM City People’s Court on January 27 sentenced Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, a former VietinBank worker, to life imprisonment charged with embezzling VND4 trillion and falsifying documents.

According to the indictment, Nhu, 36, borrowed more than VND200 billion from banks, organisations and individuals at high interest rates in 2007 to invest in property projects in several provinces and cities.

However, she became insolvent in 2010 due to the falling property market. Nhu took advantage of her position as the acting head of a VietinBank branch unit in HCM City to mobilise and embezzle VND4 trillion from three banks, nine companies and three individuals.

Nhu was sentenced to another six years in prison for falsifying nearly 200 documents, including 110 false contracts between VietinBank’s Nha Be branch in HCM City and enterprises.

Vo Anh Tuan, former director of the Nha Be branch, who aided and abetted Nhu in the case, was given a 20 years sentence, charged with swindling State property.

The court said Tuan signed documents, supporting Nhu in illegally mobilising VND80 billion from Thai Binh Duong Petroleum Company (PetroPacific). He and Nhu flew to Hanoi for negotiations to mobilise and embezzle another VND1.6 trillion from Phuc Vinh, Thinh Phat and Hung Yen companies.

Twenty-one other defendants received sentences ranging from a year (suspended) to 17 years in prison.

The court rejected lawyers’ appeal and asked VietinBank to pay the embezzled amount.