Suddenly become a debtor
In early August 2023, many poor people in Trieu Thuan commune wrote a petition for help to Thanh Nien Newspaper, describing their situation of suddenly becoming debtors.
Nguyen Ngoc Hoang was escorted to court on July 19.
Thanh Nien reporters went to Duong Dai Thuan village (Trieu Thuan commune), a locality with 43 victims of Nguyen Ngoc Hoang, former head of the credit team (Nam Cua Viet Transaction Office, Agribank, Trieu Phong District branch). As soon as they arrived, they saw people waiting at the village community house. With red, bewildered eyes, they could not contain their emotions after a long time of suffering injustice, especially after the first instance trial with many worries and insecurities. Just because of their gullibility and lack of knowledge, they let Nguyen Ngoc Hoang deceive them, turning them into "debtors" of the bank. Meanwhile, Hoang brazenly appropriated their money with many different tricks.
Mr. Le Duc Tuan (27 years old) said that in July 2019, he asked Hoang to do the procedures to borrow 100 million VND to go to Taiwan to work and had almost paid it off. However, by mid-2020, he was shocked to discover that the debt had "increased" to 300 million VND. "We didn't borrow any more, so why did we end up with a debt of 300 million VND? My family doesn't have any collateral, but somehow Hoang was able to withdraw 300 million VND to appropriate it. Now I'm going back to my hometown to open a shop selling breakfast porridge, each bowl costs 20,000 VND, so when will I be able to pay off this debt?", Mr. Tuan was frustrated.
Many poor people expressed their frustration when they were "suddenly in debt"
More ironic is the case of Vo Van Nam (32 years old). In 2019, Nam applied for a loan of 180 million VND to go abroad to work. Hoang received the application (signed by Nam's family), then informed the bank that it could not lend him the money. But it was not until mid-2020 that Nam learned that even though he could not borrow any money, he was still a "debtor" of the bank with the amount of 180 million VND. "This debt is like a thorn in my heart, every time I think about it, I feel both angry and worried. Angry because I did not borrow anything but now I have to bear the debt. Worried because where can I get the money to pay it back?", said Nam.
Ms. Tran Thi Tam's borrowing also encountered problems. In 2018, through Hoang, Ms. Tam applied for a loan of 1 billion VND to do business, but only withdrew 600 million VND. By 2020, Ms. Tam discovered that the 400 million VND left in her bank account had... disappeared. "The red book is now stuck in the bank, monthly interest is still calculated. I want to borrow more to do business but I can't and I can't transfer it either. Now I can't cry to God," Ms. Tam said in pain.
In addition, there are many cases where after borrowing money and paying off the debt, Hoang collected the money and sent back the receipt, but until now the debt is still... intact.
Fraudster sentenced to prison, who will pay off debt for people?
Nguyen Ngoc Hoang was prosecuted for the act of fraud and appropriation of property related to victims of loans in Quang Tri. After the court returned the case file for further investigation, on the afternoon of July 19, the People's Court of Quang Tri province opened a first-instance trial, sentencing Hoang to 16 years in prison for "abusing position and power to appropriate property" and 7 years in prison for "fraud and appropriation of property", a total sentence of 23 years in prison.
According to the content of the case, the defendant took advantage of trust to provide false information, appropriating more than 14 billion VND from 165 people and 1 organization. Hoang also forged signatures on mortgage loan documents to defraud the bank of 2 billion VND. At the trial, the defendant admitted all of his actions. Therefore, in addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Hoang to return all the money he had appropriated from the people and the money he had defrauded the bank.
However, at the first instance trial, after hearing the verdict, all of Hoang's victims disagreed and have now filed an appeal. They are upset because suddenly becoming a debtor is completely unreasonable and needs to be considered. They also believe that with Hoang serving 23 years in prison, the chance of the victims paying their debts is almost zero, and at the same time request to review the responsibility and role of the bank in the entire case. "There is another problem that since the incident broke out, in addition to the 300 million VND debt that fell from the sky caused by Hoang, the bank continued to calculate interest on this debt and the amount was up to 166 million VND. Like this, we have lost both the punch and the kick," Mr. Tuan was indignant.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Khanh, Head of the Agribank Loan Group in Duong Dai Thuan village, said that Hoang's victims in the village were all poor people who worked as fishermen. "It was because the people lacked knowledge and trusted the officials too much that they fell into this "tribulation". I request that the authorities consider it because for them, those debts are too big," Mr. Khanh said.
What does the bank say?
Thanh Nien reporters contacted the leaders of Agribank's Trieu Phong branch and learned that over the past 3 years, the unit has also been very tired because of the case. "Although we sympathize with the victims, the bank can only follow the law and regulations of the industry. Because as you know, Agribank is also a victim of the case," the leader of this bank branch told reporters.
Also according to information from the leader of Agribank Trieu Phong District branch, one day after the first instance trial ended, a working group led by the Director and Deputy Director of Agribank Trieu Phong District branch met directly with the people to listen to their thoughts, wishes and suggestions. "On the bank's side, we also have a roadmap to support the victims. In particular, debts related to the case will be temporarily suspended. Later, if people pay their debts and want to get their red books (land use right certificates - PV), the bank will waive or reduce interest. As for the large interest amounts related to the loans of the victims (appropriated by Hoang), which we mentioned in court, it is only to clarify Hoang's crimes, but certainly not applicable in reality when people come to pay the principal and interest. In the near future, if the victims need to borrow capital, we will create the most favorable conditions for them to borrow. Up to now, there are 15 households that are victims of Hoang, who have agreed to pay the bank, get their red books back and borrow a larger amount of money for production and business," said the leader of Agribank branch in Trieu Phong district.
N MANY TRICKS TO CAUSE VICTIMS TO FALL INTO TRAPS
At the first instance trial, the representative of the People's Procuracy and the People's Court pointed out a series of acts and tricks of Nguyen Ngoc Hoang when committing the crime such as: asking people to sign false loan documents and then announcing that the documents were invalid, but in fact the defendant had completed the contract and taken the money; accepting to pay the principal and interest for the victims but not paying the money to the bank but appropriating it; receiving the principal and interest monthly from people when they came to pay the bank (confirmed by receipt) but not paying it back to the bank but appropriating it.
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