The ongoing developments in the Vạn Thịnh Phát case involve allegations of embezzlement of 304.096 trillion Vietnamese dong through the use of fraudulent companies, fake loan records at banks, asset valuation manipulation, and asset substitution.
Among the mentioned assets, Sherwood Residence stands out. It is significant because it was the first meeting place between Trương Mỹ Lan and Đỗ Thị Nhàn (former Director of the Inspectorate II – State Bank of Vietnam) – the kickstart to a series of subsequent wrongdoings by the inspection team.
Prior to the exposure of this affair, Sherwood Residence was known as one of the upscale hotels and serviced apartments, located next to District 1, the center of Ho Chi Minh City. With 228 luxury apartments and 12 premium duplexes furnished with luxurious amenities, Sherwood Residence is the ideal accommodation choice in the city (rent prices range from 2-3 million dong per night).
In 2017, after 10 years of operation, Sherwood Residence, a 5-star serviced apartment, received the “Loved by Guests” award from the online booking website hotels.com for its outstanding facilities and excellent services.
In 2018, Sherwood Residence was also honored by TripAdvisor in the category of “Top 10 Family Hotels in Vietnam” of the Travellers’ Choice Awards. Sherwood Residence ranked fourth among the 10 awarded hotels.
Photo: Exterior and lobby of Sherwood Residence.
Returning to the Vạn Thịnh Phát case, Sherwood Residence is one of the 67 assets “diverted” from the management system of the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and transferred to the ownership of the Vạn Thịnh Phát group.
In addition, the testimony of Vo Tấn Hoàng Văn (former CEO of SCB) revealed that after discovering a series of misconduct at SCB, Đỗ Thị Nhàn raised the issue of meeting Trương Mỹ Lan to clarify matters, and Sherwood Residence was chosen as the meeting place in late October 2017.
Sherwood Residence is also the workplace of a janitor who keeps the “document box” of Chu Duyệt Phấn – the daughter of Trương Mỹ Lan and Chu Lập Cơ. The personal driver of Chu Lập Cơ, Trần Văn Hùng, was responsible for cleaning apartment 20I, according to his statement. The investigations found and seized the document box and $190,000 at Trần Văn Hùng’s residence.
The investigation concluded that money withdrawn from SCB would be transferred to “ghost” personal/corporate accounts and then withdrawn in cash to prevent the flow of funds from being traced. As soon as the cash was withdrawn, the defendants Nguyễn Phương Hồng and Trần Thị Mỹ Dung called Bùi Văn Dũng (Bà Trương Mỹ Lan’s driver) to come to the bank and receive the money.
Dũng transported 108.878 trillion dong and over $14.75 million (equivalent to 109.2 trillion dong) to Bà Trương Mỹ Lan’s residence at the basement level B1 of Sherwood Building 127 Pasteur, District 3. He handed the money to Lan’s assistant, Trần Thị Hoàng Uyên, or to the Vạn Thịnh Phát Corporation (193-203 Trần Hưng Đạo), or gave/delivered it to a few individuals…
The investigation and verification also revealed that out of 1,284 loans made by Trương Mỹ Lan’s group, 240 collateral assets were substituted for 430 loans (many loans resulted in multiple asset substitutions, with the highest being 12 times). The book value of the collateral was initially recorded at over 487.451 trillion dong, but after being swapped for 278 different collateral assets, the current book value of the assets is 351.948 trillion dong. The appraisal company Hoàng Quân appraised only 260 out of the 278 collateral assets, with a value of 108.11 trillion dong.
