Tan Hiep Phat is one of Vietnam’s biggest beverage companies, known for its range of bottled tea and energy drinks.
In his final words before the court, Thanh said he regretted what happened and was ready to take responsibility.
“I would like to be given leniency, handing me the chance to come back to society soon for my continued work and devotion,” Thanh was quoted as saying.
Judge Huynh Van Truc, who read the verdict in court Thursday, said the defendants’ crimes had “caused danger to society”.
“The defendants were well aware that their behaviour would be punished by law but they had deliberately committed the crime,” the judge said.
“BLAZING FURNACE”
Some of Vietnam’s most successful business leaders have been snared in the country’s “burning furnace” graft purge.
The sweep has been driven by powerful Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and more than 1,700 cases have been prosecuted since 2021.
In one of the biggest fraud cases in history, property tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death earlier this month for masterminding a swindle that has caused losses estimated at US$27 billion.
Facing justice with Lan were 85 others, including senior banking officials, being sentenced on charges ranging from bribery and power abuse to appropriation and violations of banking law.
In March, a Hanoi court gave luxury property tycoon Do Anh Dung eight years in prison for cheating thousands of investors in a US$355 million bond scam.
State media reported that Dung and his son, who was jailed for three years, have already repaid the US$355 million.
