Vietnamese property tycoon faces trial in $28m stock scam

Vietnam started the trial of a property and airline tycoon accused of stock manipulation worth 723 billion dongs ($28 million) as part of an anti-corruption campaign.

Trinh Van Quyet, the founder of real estate firm FLC, is alleged to have artificially inflated share prices by fabricating contracts, receipts, and capital contributions to create a false impression of financial strength.

Prosecutors claim that Quyet instructed his sister to use the IDs of 45 individuals to open 500 accounts and engage in fraudulent trading activities between 2017 and 2022, leading to a significant increase in FLC stock prices.

He and his accomplices manipulated stocks and made a profit of 723 billion dong, as reported by the government in July. The mass trial involves 50 defendants and 30,403 investor victims, according to the web post.

Local media reports that Quyet has paid 210 billion dongs to the government as part of a common practice in Vietnam to seek leniency by returning ill-gotten gains. He is expected to make additional payments.

The communist nation’s anti-corruption efforts extend across both the public and private sectors. Government data from April revealed that a party commission disciplined 458 party members within just the first three months of the year.

Attribution: The Nikkei Asia