After top honcho’s arrest, FLC, Bamboo Airways appoint acting chairman

Trinh Van Quyet, chairman of real estate developer FLC and Bamboo Airways, authorized Yen’s appointment before he was arrested Tuesday pending investigations into suspicions of stock market manipulation.

The move is to limit any risks that may arise and ensure regular operations of the FLC group and its subsidiaries including Bamboo Airways.

A group statement said that the entities were not involved in activities related to the arrest of Quyet.

“The incident completely does not affect or change the important orientations of FLC in its production and investment activities as well as its sustainable development in the coming time,” the statement said.

It also affirmed that the legal rights and interests of customers, shareholders and business partners transacting and cooperating with the group will not be affected in any way.

Yen, 44, will represent Quyet in performing the tasks and as chair of the Board of Directors at FLC Group and Bamboo Airways.

She was appointed deputy CEO of FLC in March 2017 after working as assistant to the Board of Directors of the FLC Group and director of the SMiC Law Firm, which was also founded by Quyet.

Before joining FLC, Yen was the head of the Legal Department at the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), and deputy head of the Commercial Law Department at the Hanoi Law University.

Vu Dang Hai Yen is now the acting chairwoman of FLC and Bamboo Airways. Photo by FLC

Quyet, 47, and other individuals and companies will be investigated for stock market manipulation and concealing information on Jan. 10, 2022, actions that have caused serious damage to investors and affected operations of Vietnam’s stock exchange, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

He sold 74.8 million FLC shares Jan. 10, but the State Securities Commission (SSC) only received notice of the sale that evening, though regulations require a notification three working days in advance.

On Jan. 17, Quyet was fined VND1.5 billion ($65,800) and banned from trading in the securities market for five months for failing to disclose plans to sell shares.

Quyet has a large stocks portfolio and was once one of the wealthiest people on the Vietnamese stock exchange.

He began his career as a lawyer in 2001, when he and his associates established the SMiC Law Office, which later became the SMiC Law Firm. He also established a number of businesses and the FLC brand was formed in early 2010 after merging all of them.

Bamboo Airways, founded by FLC, entered the aviation market in 2019.

FLC’s charter capital stood at VND10.5 trillion (over $459 million) in early 2021, after more than 10 years of operation.

As of January 2022, Quyet owned over 215 million FLC shares, equivalent to approximately 30 percent, as well as tens of millions of stocks in related companies like ROS.

The share value of FLC and related companies hit the floor Monday and Tuesday after the company was fined Friday for flouting disclosure regulations.