Former National Assembly member Chau Thi Thu Nga was sentenced to life imprisonment for swindling to appropriate assets after a two-week trial that concluded on October 16.
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| Chau Thi Thu Nga, former Chairwoman and General Director of Housing Group (front, centre), at the trial__Photo: VNA |
Nga was former Chairwoman and General Director of the Land and Housing Construction and Investment JSC (Housing Group).
The Hanoi Supreme People’s Court also handed down jail terms of six years, four years, 30 months and 24 months respectively to four former general directors of Housing Group, namely Nguyen Truong Son, Le Hong Cuong, Nguyen Vu Hung and Phan Thanh Tuyen.
Two former directors of Housing Group’s real estate trading company, Nguyen Thi Tinh and Luu Thi Thuy, were also sentenced to imprisonment of seven and three years, respectively.
Former chief accountants of the Housing Group, Pham Thi Thu Hanh and Dinh Phuc Hieu got three-year imprisonment and three-year suspended sentence, respectively, while former acting chief accountant Doan Thi Thanh Thuy got two years in prison.
According to the verdict, Nga and her accomplices publicized false information about the B5 Cau Dien project, deceiving and misappropriating nearly VND 377 billion paid by 726 housing buyers who received no apartments. Only nearly VND 29 billion was returned to 43 clients.
The court found Nga guilty of masterminding the swindle and spending all the money. It ordered Nga and the Housing Group to repay VND 242 billion to the victims including VND 187.5 billion of payable by the Housing Group. The nine other defendants won’t be responsible for compensation.
In 2008, Nga and Nguyen Van Tuan, director of the Hanoi Construction Import Export and Investment Limited Company, signed a cooperation contract to build apartments and garden villas in the B5 Cau Dien area in Bac Tu Liem District’s Cau Dien Town.
The project site was actually located on land that belonged to Hanoi’s urban development project. Therefore, the B5 Cau Dien project was not officially approved or licensed to operate and call for funding. However, Nga intentionally posted false information on the project’s legal status and progress on the Housing Group’s website to win clients’ trust.- (VNS/VLLF)
