Vietnam: banker’s arrest puts Agribank in the spotlight

By Jake Maxwell Watts and Nguyen Phuong Linh

Just when Vietnam’s weary investors were breathing a little easier amid improved economic data and an unexpected upturn in its stock markets, a long-simmering bank scandal burst back into the open with the arrest of another high-profile banker. Vietnam’s minister of public security announced on Wednesday that Pham Thanh Tan (pictured left), ex-chief of the state-owned Agribank, had been arrested for “irresponsibly causing serious consequences.”

While his actions are still unclear, the news followed the arrests of at least four Agribank executives late last year on charges of theft and embezzlement amounting to a combined $2m plus, according to local media.

Tan's arrest also follows the detention of several prominent figures in Vietnam’s banking sector. The arrest of Nguyen Duc Kien in August last year, co-founder of Vietnam’s giant Asia Commercial Bank, triggered fears of a run on the bank and sent the country’s stock markets plunging, further eroding investor and consumer confidence.