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Wednesday November 1, 4:03 PMVietnam PM urges speedy trial in ABN Amro forex case
The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) said initial inspections by the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Public Security had indicated that the Dutch bank "had seriously violated Vietnamese laws and international practices." Premier Nguyen Tan Dung had instructed police, prosecutors, the state bank and the foreign ministry to organise a meeting with the Dutch bank. "The PM said violations... of all domestic and foreign individuals and organisations involved in the case must be brought to light to quickly bring the case to trial," said the VNA report released late Tuesday. The controversial case, which has triggered diplomatic protests from the Netherlands, centres on foreign currency deals ABN Amro carried out for Vietnam's state-owned Industrial and Commercial Bank of Vietnam (Incombank), which says it lost 5.4 million dollars in the process. Police have detained four ABN Amro staff since March and demanded the bank pay back the money, alleging it should have known it was dealing with an unlicensed trader in Incombank and had breached local banking regulations. Incombank's suspected rogue trader Nguyen Thi Quynh Van, who allegedly used a stolen computer password to execute the transactions, could face death by firing squad if found guilty of causing economic losses for the state bank. ABN Amro has denied all wrongdoing and said it has followed normal trading practices. The case has raised concerns in the foreign business community here about police strong-arm tactics in what many see as a routine banking dispute. The VNA report said Dung had also told state agencies to "ensure transparency in the process and keep losses to the state at a minimum, as well as prevent any impact on the investment environment." Dung had also asked the state bank to investigate foreign exchange transactions between ABN Amro and the Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and report back to him as soon as possible. He told the foreign ministry to "work with the diplomatic missions of the concerned countries to solve relating diplomatic issues," said the VNA report. The newspaper Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City reported Wednesday that Dung's directive also suggested leniency if the Dutch bank pays the money. "If a law violater is honest in their testimony, compensates for the loss and minimizes the consequences, they might be considered for a reduction or exemption of criminal responsibility," it quoted the directive as saying. |
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