At 8:10 am on March 6, the trial of Truong My Lan (68 years old, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat Group) and 85 accomplices involved in the misconduct at Van Thinh Phat Group, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and relevant entities continued with the prosecution’s indictment.
Ms. Truong My Lan at the trial on March 6. Photo: Duy Anh.
In this case, 3 defendants have died so the prosecuting authority does not consider criminal liability, including: Nguyen Phuong Hong (Deputy Director, Director of SCB Southern Branch), Nguyen Tien Thanh (Member of SCB Board of Directors) and Nguyen Ngoc Duong (CEO of Saigon Peninsula Company).
The indictment establishes that Nguyen Phuong Hong and Nguyen Tien Thanh participated in the construction of loan files, approval, credit granting for loans of customers belonging to Van Thinh Phat Group that violated the regulations of SCB, helping Truong My Lan commit the offense of unlawful use and misappropriation of credit organization funds.
However, these 2 individuals have died, so no criminal liability is considered.
As for Nguyen Ngoc Duong, he participated in the process of directing the search, hiring people to stand as borrowers, legal representatives, ownership of shares..; directly stood as a party to loan agreements, collateral contracts, and actively assisted Truong My Lan in committing the offense, but this person also died, so no criminal liability is considered.
In relation to the case, officials at the unit/branch level for lending; revaluation for lending; advisors for the Board of Directors, supporting personnel for the Board of Directors, and Control Board who participated in loan files that did not meet the regulations; checked, controlled the activities of SCB and the individuals at the unit/Branch level involved in accounting related to disbursement amounts for loans of Truong My Lan, Van Thinh Phat Group, are dependent individuals, salaried employees, without holding key positions. They perform professional duties as required by the SCB leadership.
They also actively cooperate during the investigation process, contributing effectively to the investigation and handling of crimes, so no criminal liability is considered for these individuals.
Defendants at the trial on the second day. Photo: Duy Anh.
As for the group of hired individuals who signed loan agreements, acted as legal representatives of companies signing loan files, acted as representatives of secured assets, signed withdrawal and money transfer documents, worked as accounting employees, administrative personnel… involved in loan files that did not meet the regulations for customers in the Van Thinh Phat Group borrowing from SCB, they played a secondary role, besides the salary, they did not benefit anything else.
In addition, they themselves are not aware that the above-mentioned actions assist Truong My Lan in withdrawing money from the bank, and they are dependent individuals who perform tasks hired by other individuals. Therefore, no criminal liability is considered for these individuals.
