HANOI, Feb. 5 (Xinhua) -- Trinh Xuan Thanh, former chairman of the Board of Directors of state-owned PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC), on Monday was sentenced life behind bars on the charge of asset embezzlement at PetroVietnam Power Land Company (PVP Land).

The Hanoi People's Court also handed down jail terms of from six years to 16 years on seven other defendants in the PVP Land case, including Dinh Manh Thang, former chairman of the Board of Directors of Song Da Oil and Gas Investment and Commerce Company, younger brother of ousted Political Bureau member Dinh La Thang. Dinh Manh Thang got the imprisonment sentence of nine years on the charge of asset embezzlement.

According to the verdict, Trinh Xuan Thanh, 52, was mainly responsible for deciding to transfer over 12 million shares of PVP Land at selling prices much lower than their actual prices, and pocketed 14 billion Vietnamese dong (619,000 U.S. dollars).

On Jan. 22, the same court passed the jail term of 13 years on Dinh La Thang for intentionally violating state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences, and life sentence on Trinh Xuan Thanh for intentionally violating state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences, and for misappropriating assets at the state-owned National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam or PVN).

Dinh La Thang, former chairman of the member council of PetroVietnam, was mainly responsible for wrongdoings during the implementation of the Thai Binh 2 thermal power plant project. The plant was built by PVC.

Dinh La Thang, 58, lost his membership in the Political Bureau under the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee in May 2017.

Vietnam's Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption has agreed on plans to finalize the investigation, prosecution and judgment regarding 23 corruption and economic cases in 2017 and in the first quarter of 2018.