Date adjourned
On the morning of March 8th, the trial session for Ms. Truong My Lan and 85 other defendants in the Van Thinh Phat case, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), and related parties resumed on Wednesday with the questioning of defendant Tran Van Nhi – Deputy Director of ATC Auditing and Valuation Company.
Due to their pre-existing relationship, Tran Van Nhi – Deputy Director of ATC Auditing and Valuation Company was asked by Tran Thi My Dung – Deputy General Director of SCB to search for appraisal companies to appraise the collateral assets for the bank.
Ms. Truong My Lan in the trial on March 8th.
In 2020, Dung asked Nghi to contact an appraisal company to appraise some assets of Van Thinh Phat. Afterwards, Nhi contacted and made an agreement with Tran Thi Kim Ngan – General Director of Thiên Phú Appraisal Company to issue two appraisal certificates backdated in order to inflate the value of the assets. Tran Thi Kim Ngan directly received the appraisal portfolio from Nhi as requested by SCB.
When submitting the portfolio to Ngan, Nhi attached a file with the required asset appraisal value and the backdated certificate issuance date, which is prior to the actual date of receiving the appraisal portfolio.
In a statement to the court, Tran Van Nhi stated that he only accepted the request to introduce Dung to find an appraisal company for two projects: Mui Den Do Park and Urban Housing in Phu Thuan Ward (District 7, Ho Chi Minh City) and the 100 Hung Vuong project (Ward 9, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City).
For Mui Den Do Park and Urban Housing in Phu Thuan Ward, Dung requested that the appraisal be conducted and the certificates be issued based on a pre-existing model. For the 100 Hung Vuong project, Dung requested an appraisal that did not follow the approved 1/2000 planning parameters.
Nhi then contacted Ngan and instructed her employee Tran Tuan Hai to appraise the assets as requested by SCB, in order to determine the collateral value for bank loans and inflate the value several times beyond the actual value as requested by Tran Van Nhi.
Specifically, the 100 Hung Vuong project was appraised beyond the approved planning regulations, exceeding 15 floors. The Mui Den Do Park and Urban Housing project in Phu Thuan Ward was appraised incorrectly in terms of planning and the appraised assets were not legally owned by the Peninsula Group Corporation, and there was no actual surveyed comparison to establish a reference price.
Mui Den Do Park and Urban Housing project has been falsely appraised by many appraisal companies.
From August to December 2020, Tran Tuan Hai and Tran Thi Kim Ngan signed the issuance of two false appraisal certificates, backdating the issuance date for the appraisal of Mui Den Do Park and Urban Housing project in Phu Thuan Ward, valued at VND 151.505 trillion, and the appraisal of the land use rights at the 100 Hung Vuong project, valued at over VND 4.427 trillion.
SCB used these two certificates to legitimately secure the collateral assets and disburse loans to 65 customers with a total disbursement amount of more than VND 105.656 trillion. The total outstanding loans for these borrowers as of October 17th, 2022, is VND 127.384 trillion.
Meanwhile, Hoang Quan Company’s appraisal result for these two assets was only over VND 17.320 billion. The charges stated that Tran Van Nhi, Tran Thi Kim Ngan, and Tran Tuan Hai caused damages to SCB of over VND 110.064 trillion.
“I didn’t know the inflated value of the assets, I was only the person who introduced Ngan to Dung. I didn’t intervene or influence the appraisal process. Since being arrested, I have felt very regretful. I have influenced my family to rectify the consequences,” Nhi said.
Tran Van Nhi claimed that he is the main breadwinner in his family. His wife is sick, they have two young children, and he has to bear the financial burden of both sides of the family, hoping that the court will leniently reduce his sentence so that he can return to his family soon.
As the signatory and issuer of the two appraisal certificates for Mui Den Do Park and Urban Housing project, 100 Hung Vuong project, and Long Phuoc residential project, Tran Thi Kim Ngan – General Director of Thiên Phú Appraisal Company stated in court that she has only received VND 300 million as a down payment.
The vacant land of the 100 Hung Vuong project is currently being used for parking.
According to defendant Ngan, accepting appraisal work for the two projects from Nhi was to ensure the company’s revenue. Nhi stated the price, created a low-priced appraisal portfolio for VND 8 million at the lowest and VND 300 million at the highest, but with a tight deadline. However, the pricing and completion time had to follow Nhi’s requirements.
“I didn’t know anyone in SCB and only worked with Nhi. At that time, the company was very difficult and under a lot of pressure. I just wanted to have money to pay employees’ salaries and maintain the company. I didn’t know the purpose of SCB using these certificates, I only thought they were for annual asset appraisal,” Ngan said.
Following orders
Similarly, Ho Binh Minh, Business Deputy Director of MHD Appraisal Company, agreed with Tran Khanh Du – Director of MHD Appraisal Company in the middle of 2020 regarding the appraisal of assets according to SCB’s request.
Minh agreed with Son to inflate the value of the assets in the 100 Hung Vuong project and the residential project in Long Phuoc commune (Long Thanh district, Dong Nai province). At the 100 Hung Vuong project, MHD Appraisal Company issued an appraisal certificate that violated the planning regulations (exceeding 26 floors) compared to the approved 1/2000 planning by District 5 People’s Committee, inflating the appraised value by over VND 14.353 trillion.
The defendants in the trial on March 8th.
This helped SCB to legitimately secure the collateral assets and disburse loans to the customers of both projects, with a total disbursement amount of VND 9.570 trillion. The total outstanding loans as of October 17th, 2022, is VND 10.208 trillion.
In addition, Minh drafted reports and appraisal certificates that inflated the value of the assets, which were then sent to Ho Thi Mai Hoa – an employee of Tam Nhin Moi Company for printing, stamping, and reissuing to Minh. The two appraisal certificates for the Long Phuoc residential project were inflated to over VND 7.367 trillion.
Tam Nhin Moi Company also issued an appraisal certificate for the 100 Hung Vuong project with a value of over VND 14.353 trillion, helping SCB to legitimate the collateral and disburse loans to three customers with a total disbursement amount of VND 14.570 trillion. The total outstanding debt as of October 17th, 2022, is VND 15.523 trillion.
Ho Binh Minh stated that at the end of 2021, the company faced difficulties due to the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, Minh met with Son to discuss the need for asset appraisal to secure loans from SCB, specifically for the 100 Hung Vuong project and the Long Phuoc project.
“Initially, I appraised the 100 Hung Vuong project for over VND 8,000 billion, but Son asked if it could be raised to over VND 14,000 billion, and after calculating, I agreed. The appraisal fee for the 100 Hung Vuong project was VND 100 million. I saw the risks but thought it was just a business option, I didn’t know the portfolios I made were to legitimize withdrawing money, that’s why I took the job,” Minh said.
However, the indictment stated that Ho Binh Minh caused damages to SCB of over VND 11.714 trillion.
