Agribank employees charged for stealing over US$1 million
Prosecutors in Quang Nam Province in central Vietnam have pressed charges against leaders of an Agribank branch after more than US$1 million of the lender was stolen for gambling.
Nguyen Huu Khanh, deputy director of the district branch of the state-owned lender, received embezzlement charge, so as two other staff members, local media reported.
Investigation found they made regular football bets on the Internet between June 2010 and December 2013. They kept losing and thus colluded to steal more than VND25 billion (US$$1.17 million) from the bank to pay the debts.
The branch’s director Le Tu Ban and another deputy director were charged with negligence.Police accused Ban of mismanagement and failing to check the books regularly.
Vietnam Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development (Agribank) is Vietnam’s largest state-owned bank and has been infamous for huge lapses in management.
Last December, a court in the Central Highlands sentenced two Agribank employees to prison for gambling away over US$560,000 of customers’ loan payments.
Executives at many of the bank’s branches in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have also been arrested for instances of mismanagement.