On March 13, the trial of defendants Truong My Lan and her accomplices continued with the questioning of lawyers.
In response to a question from lawyer Nguyen Van Hau (representing defendant Bui Anh Dung) about whether the defendant chose Dung to be the Chairman of the SCB Bank’s Board of Directors, Truong My Lan denied it.
 Defendant Truong My Lan. Photo by Nguyen Hue |
In response to Truong My Lan’s denial, lawyer Hau disclosed Lan’s statement during the investigation. According to Lan’s statement, in December 2020, when Dinh Van Thanh (former Chairman of the SCB Bank’s Board of Directors) took his wife and children abroad for medical treatment, he introduced Dung to Lan and said, “Dung is a kind person, so Thanh recommended him to become the Chairman of the Board of Directors during Thanh’s absence.”
However, Truong My Lan denied this statement: “No. Mr. Thanh only told me that Dung would be the Chairman during the time he took his wife and children abroad for medical treatment.”
The defendants, who are leaders and employees of the SCB Bank, all admitted to following Truong My Lan’s instructions. Photo by Nguyen Hue |
Lawyer Hau continued to disclose Dung’s statement during the investigation. According to Dung’s statement, during the Tet holiday in 2020, Truong My Lan gave Dung a reward of 20 billion VND, and in Tet 2021, Lan rewarded Dung with an additional 20 billion VND. However, Truong My Lan continued to deny this statement.
“I remember that Dung’s wife also worked at the SCB Bank. At that time, I told Dung: ‘You are the chairman. It looks weird for the chairman to have a wife working here, so let your wife resign, and as for your child, take it slowly. I’ll give you this money. I don’t remember if I gave Dung 2 billion or 20 billion,” Truong My Lan testified.
In addition, Truong My Lan continued to deny the indictment and statements from subordinates regarding the fact that whenever money was needed, she would instruct Truong Khanh Hoang and Tran Thi My Dung to inform Dung about which loan belonged to Truong My Lan and which loan belonged to Van Thinh Phat.
 The defendants at the trial on March 13. Photo by Nguyen Hue |
In response to a question from lawyer Nguyen Thanh Cong about whether she engaged in manipulating the value of assets or adding more assets to ensure there was enough collateral, former SCB Bank Deputy General Director Tran Thi My Dung answered that there were 2 methods. One was to use money to pay off the old loans (principal and interest), and if the assets were insufficient, the value of the old assets would be raised to ensure approval for new loans. The second method was to disburse money for Lan to use. Specifically, Lan would provide assets, and Dung would contact a valuation company and request that the company provide the desired value for the loan.
Dung also explained that during her time at the SCB Bank, she had great trust and admiration for Lan, and they worked together with absolute loyalty.
