The former chairman of Vietnam’s state-owned shipping conglomerate, Vinalines, Duong Chi Dung and former CEO, Mai Van Phuc, were yesterday sentenced to death for embezzlement. The government of Vietnam is stepping up its crackdown on corporate corruption.
Dung went on the run in May of this year when, according to local media reports, Vinalines defaulted on loans worth more than US$1.1 billion leading to the group’s near collapse with debts estimated at US$3 billion. He was arrested in neighbouring Cambodia in September.
The indictment focused on the acquisition by the defendants of an old, non-functional Japanese floating dock whose technical specifications were falsified. Vinalines has a fleet of almost 140 shipping and its business also spans port management, maritime services and logistics.