On the morning of January 17, the People's Court of Khanh Hoa province decided to temporarily suspend the trial of the civil appeal lawsuit "dispute over property recovery and claim for compensation for damages" between the plaintiff, Ms. Ho Thi Thuy Duong (born in 1977, Cam Phu ward, Cam Ranh city) and the defendant, Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Sacombank).
During the questioning, Sacombank representative requested the Court to transfer the case file to the investigation agency to consider criminal responsibility for Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha - former Deputy Head of Sacombank Cam Ranh Transaction Office and Ms. Ho Thi Thuy Duong in colluding with each other to appropriate money from Sacombank...
It is known that Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha is being investigated in connection with the case of a group of bank officials colluding to embezzle money from Sacombank.
Meanwhile, the lawyer protecting the rights of Ms. Ho Thi Thuy Duong disagreed with the above viewpoint of Sacombank.
The lawyer requested the panel of judges to continue handling this case, citing that during the process of handling the Sacombank case, the Khanh Hoa Provincial Police Investigation Agency sent a document to the court regarding its refusal to accept and handle Sacombank's request.
At the trial, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Khanh Hoa province commented that 2 out of 12 transactions that Ms. Duong was not present to perform should be transferred to the Investigation Police Agency of Khanh Hoa province to collect and verify signs of crime of the individuals involved.
After listening to the opinions of the parties, the panel of judges consulted and decided: Because the statements of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha - former Deputy Head of Sacombank Cam Ranh Transaction Office were unclear, it was necessary to collect more documents and evidence to clarify.
Therefore, the Panel of Judges decided to temporarily suspend the appeal hearing. The court will notify the plaintiff and defendant of the time to reopen the hearing later.
Previously, at the first instance trial in July 2024, Cam Ranh City People's Court declared Ms. Ho Thi Thuy Duong won the lawsuit against Sacombank. The first instance court accepted the plaintiff's lawsuit request, Ms. Ho Thi Thuy Duong, forcing Sacombank to pay the principal amount of 46.9 billion VND.
After the court of first instance announced its verdict, Sacombank filed an appeal against the entire first instance verdict of Cam Ranh City People's Court.
Sacombank believes that the first instance judgment of Cam Ranh City People's Court seriously violated the Law on Procedural Law and did not objectively and comprehensively reflect the evidence and documents in the file, and did not accurately reflect the nature of the incident, affecting the legitimate rights and interests of Sacombank.
The court of first instance determined that the fault lay with the bank.
The court of first instance in Cam Ranh City assessed that the fault in this case belonged to Sacombank.
Sacombank argued that the 12 documents provided by the plaintiff proving the amount of money withdrawn were copies and therefore had no legal effect. The court held that these documents were shown in the investigation conclusion of Khanh Hoa Provincial Police and the documents provided by the bank. Therefore, the documents provided by the plaintiff were correct.
In addition, the account owner, Ms. Ho Thi Thuy Duong, did not withdraw cash or transfer the amount of 46.9 billion VND in her account.
Of the 12 transactions, 2 transactions took place between June 13 and 15, 2022 and could not have been made by Ms. Duong because at that time, her family was traveling in Phu Quoc. There is specific evidence from the travel company confirming the above.
Regarding the withdrawal process from Ms. Duong's account, the court determined that the withdrawal did not involve the account owner being present at the transaction office.
