As previously announced, it is expected that from March 5th to April 29th, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court will conduct the first-instance trial of defendant Truong My Lan (68 years old, Chairman of Van Thinh Phat Group) and her husband Chu Lap Co (68 years old), along with 84 other defendants, in a case that occurred at Van Thinh Phat Group, Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), and related organizations.
The defendants are charged with various crimes including embezzlement, violations of banking operations regulations, solicitation and acceptance of bribes, abuse of power while performing official duties, and serious dereliction of duty.
Among the 84 defendants, there are 5 former SCB bank leaders who are currently on the run. The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court has issued a document calling for these 5 defendants to surrender themselves in the Van Thinh Phat case in order to receive lenient treatment.
The 5 defendants are: Nguyen Lam Anh Vu (55 years old, former Deputy Director of Ben Thanh Branch of Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank – SCB), Tram Thich Ton (63 years old, former member of SCB Board of Directors), Chiem Minh Dung (51 years old, former Deputy General Director of SCB), Nguyen Thi Thu Suong (50 years old, former Chairman of SCB Board of Directors), Dinh Van Thanh (53 years old, former Chairman of SCB Board of Directors).
The indictment determined that these defendants actively assisted defendant Truong My Lan in withdrawing money from SCB, causing significant consequences. Specifically:
The group of 5 former high-ranking officials of SCB who are wanted, including defendants Suong, Thanh, Vu, Ton, Dung (from left to right, top to bottom).
The defendants Nguyen Lam Anh Vu, former Deputy Director of Ben Thanh Branch – SCB, is charged with “violating regulations on lending activities of credit institutions” as prescribed in Article 179, Clause 3 of the 1999 Penal Code, with a punishment ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.
From August 13, 2014, to August 31, 2015, Vu signed 112 loan documents, causing damage to SCB of over 3,700 billion VND.
The defendant Tram Thich Ton, former member of SCB Board of Directors, is charged with “violating regulations on lending activities of credit institutions,” as prescribed in Article 179, Clause 3 of the 1999 Penal Code, with a punishment ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.
It was determined that Ton provided support to Truong My Lan in withdrawing money from SCB. From July 25, 2012, to May 24, 2013, Ton signed 80 loan documents, causing damage to SCB of over 7,100 billion VND.
The defendant Nguyen Thi Thu Suong, former Chairman of SCB Board of Directors, is charged with “violating regulations on lending activities of credit institutions,” as prescribed in Article 179, Clause 3 of the 1999 Penal Code, with a punishment ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.
According to the indictment, from July 25, 2012, to July 30, 2013, Suong signed 79 loan documents, causing damage to SCB of nearly 7,000 billion VND.
The defendant Chiem Minh Dung, former Deputy General Director of SCB, is charged with “violating regulations on banking operations, other activities related to banking operations,” as prescribed in Article 206, Clause 4 of the 2015 Penal Code, with a punishment ranging from 12 to 20 years in prison. Dung was determined to have signed 362 loan documents from November 20, 2012, to April 4, 2019, causing damage to SCB of nearly 141,000 billion VND.
The defendant Dinh Van Thanh, former Chairman of SCB Board of Directors, is charged with “embezzlement,” with the highest punishment being the death penalty, and “violating regulations on lending activities of credit institutions” as prescribed in Article 179, Clause 3 of the 1999 Penal Code, with a punishment ranging from 10 to 20 years in prison.
According to the indictment, from June 28, 2012, to October 19, 2017, Thanh signed 174 loan documents, causing damage to SCB of over 42,700 billion VND. From February 9, 2018, to December 6, 2020, Thanh signed 305 loan documents, helping Truong My Lan misappropriate over 189,000 billion VND from SCB, and causing damage of over 99,600 billion VND.
Defendant Truong My Lan takes over SCB, turning it into a “financial tool”
According to the indictment, defendant Truong My Lan was the leader of the Van Thinh Phat “empire,” which includes over 1,000 large and small businesses, both domestic and foreign. In order to secure funding for the operation of this enormous business “ecosystem,” the defendant sought to take over SCB, turning it into her “financial tool.”
Through the trick of gathering shares and having others hold them on her behalf, the defendant held 85% to 91.5% of SCB’s shares. As a major shareholder, Defendant Truong My Lan directed, controlled, and manipulated the entire operation of SCB, serving various purposes.
According to the charges, from February 2018 to October 2022, Lan instructed the creation of 916 fraudulent loan documents totaling 545,000 billion VND in SCB and misappropriated 304,000 billion VND, causing nearly 130,000 billion VND in interest losses.
The Supreme People’s Procuracy determined that Chairman of Van Thinh Phat Group Truong My Lan and her accomplices used sophisticated methods and tactics, causing particularly serious consequences, misappropriating and causing significant financial losses.
In particular, in order to conceal the poor condition of SCB and help the bank escape special inspection, Lan instructed subordinates to bribe all 18 members of the inspection team. Lan is accused of instructing lower-ranking employees to bribe Do Thi Nhan, former Director of Supervision and Monitoring at the State Bank of Vietnam, with 5.2 million USD.
Among the 18 members of the inspection team, Team Leader Do Thi Nhan is charged with accepting bribes of 5.2 million USD; 10 defendants are charged with abusing their positions and powers while performing official duties; the remaining 7 individuals are not subject to criminal prosecution.
