Vietnam’s police today [April 13] arrested Pham Nhat Vu, former chairman of Audio Visual Global (AVG), for bribery charges in the acquisition of AVG by state-owned MobiFone Telecommunications Corporation in 2016. 
Former AVG Chairman Pham Nhat Vu. Photo: VietnamFinance
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Vu was arrested for the same charge with that of two former Ministers of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son and Truong Minh Tuan, former Chairman of MobiFone Le Nam Tra, and former General Director of MobiFone Cao Duy Hai. Four of them were arrested in 2018 and early 2019.
Son and Tuan were arrested in February for “violating regulations on state capital management, causing serious damage” under the Penal Code.
On April 13, the police also arrested two people from AMAX, an investment and appraisal company, which acted as consulting firm in the acquisition.
The arrest of Vu aims to promote the legal proceedings of the violating acquisition in which MobiFone overpaid AVG and caused a loss worth more than VND7 trillion (US$304 million) to the state.
MobiFone, under the management of MIC, broke law on buying a 95% stake of AVG as it made the acquisition decision without investment plans and study on AVG’s situation.
The deal left serious impacts on MobiFone’s operations and hurt its equitization process. The corporation suffered an accumulative loss worth VND1.9 trillion (US$82 million), according to Tuoi Tre Online.
The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), meanwhile, was irresponsible for verifying the case, approving the deal without fundamental legal basis.
The Government Inspectorate concluded that the MIC violated the Law on Investment and the government’s rules by approving the deal without the prime minister’s endorsement.
AVG was set up in 2008 with registered capital of VND1.8 trillion (US$78 million). AVG’s former Chairman Pham Nhat Vu is younger brother of Pham Nhat Vuong, chairman of Vietnam’s leading conglomerate Vingroup. Vuong is the first Vietnamese USD billionaire.
