Vietnam Jails Ex-Saigon Jewelry CEO, 15 Others in Gold Case

A Vietnam court convicted a former top-ranking gold executive and 15 others in a case that spotlighted shortcomings in the state’s monopoly on gold trading, which is now being scrapped in favor of a more market-oriented approach.

Le Thuy Hang, the ex-CEO of Saigon Jewelry Co., was sentenced to 25 years in prison for embezzlement and the abuse of power for taking advantage of government policies related to the precious metal, VnExpress and other media reported, citing court proceedings. SJC, as the firm is known, was the country’s only legal producer of gold bars at the time.