On February 22, authorities transported 81 defendants to Ho Chi Minh City for the trial of the Van Thinh Phat case. They are being charged with embezzlement, bribery, and violating regulations on lending by credit institutions. Meanwhile, 5 other defendants in the case are currently being wanted by police.
In this case, there are 13 defendants who are being prosecuted with a possible prison sentence of 20 years, life imprisonment, or capital punishment. The defendants include Truong My Lan (68 years old, Chairman of Van Thinh Phat Group) and 11 accomplices who are charged with embezzlement under Article 353 of the 2015 Penal Code. Another defendant, Do Thi Nhan, former Director General of Inspection and Supervision Department II (Department II) under the State Bank, is charged with bribery under Article 354 of the Penal Code.
Trương Mỹ Lan and Trương Huệ Vân at the time of their arrest.
On February 19, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City issued a notice calling on the 5 wanted defendants in the Van Thinh Phat case to surrender themselves in order to enjoy the leniency policy of the Party and the State. They are also requested to cooperate with the relevant agencies in order to ensure their right to defense as prescribed in Article 16 and Article 61 of the 2015 Criminal Procedure Code.
The 5 wanted 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’s 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’s Board of Directors), and Dinh Van Thanh (53 years old, former Chairman of SCB’s Board of Directors).
“In the event that the defendants do not appear or surrender, it shall be considered as a waiver of their right to defense and they shall be tried in absentia,” stated the notice.
According to the indictment issued by the Supreme People’s Procuracy, Truong My Lan, Chairman of Van Thinh Phat Group, is being charged with three offenses: embezzlement, bribery, and violation of lending regulations by credit institutions.
The investigative agency of the Ministry of Public Security has accused Truong My Lan, although not holding any position at SCB, of being the mastermind behind a series of activities that resulted in the misappropriation of over VND 304 trillion.
The indictment by the Supreme People’s Procuracy states that from 2012 to October 2022, Truong My Lan has acquired and held from 85% to 91.5% of SCB’s shares. As a result, she became a shareholder with “power” to direct, control, and manipulate all of SCB’s operations to serve her various purposes.
Truong My Lan and her accomplices have conducted a series of activities including: recruiting and arranging their trusted personnel in key positions at SCB; establishing specialized units within SCB to provide loans and disbursements at Truong My Lan’s request; establishing and utilizing thousands of “shell” companies, hiring numerous individuals; colluding with individuals in charge of various related businesses to commit crimes.
In addition, Truong My Lan and her accomplices colluded with multiple valuation companies to inflate the value of pledged assets; created a large number of falsified loan applications to withdraw money from SCB; developed cash withdrawal plans to cut off the money flow after disbursement; sold bad debts and delayed payment credit facilities to reduce credit balances and bad debts in order to conceal malfeasance; bribed and exerted influence on individuals holding positions and authorities in state agencies for their personal gain.
As a result, Truong My Lan and her accomplices, with their different positions and roles, have committed numerous offenses that infringe upon ownership rights, interfere with the operation of banks, and disrupt the proper functioning of state agencies.
Among them, the Supreme People’s Procuracy has determined that many acts were committed as organized accomplices with sophisticated and cunning methods, causing particularly serious consequences, and resulted in the misappropriation and immense damage of the amount of money.
From March 5 to April 29, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City will proceed with the first-instance trial of the Van Thinh Phat case. The trial is chaired by Judge Pham Luong Toan, Chief Judge of the Criminal Division. The Supreme People’s Procuracy has assigned 10 procurators from the Supreme People’s Procuracy and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Procuracy to handle the prosecution in court.
Pham Ngoc Duy, Head of the Office of the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City, stated that the Van Thinh Phat case, related to misconduct in lending activities at SCB, involves nearly 2,500 volumes of documents, contained within 104 boxes, weighing about 6 tons, with about 1 million pages.
Therefore, a separate room has been prepared to store the documents, and a system of fire protection and cameras will also be installed to ensure security while lawyers take photos and study the documents.
