On March 12th, the trial of Ms. Truong My Lan (Chairman of Van Thinh Phat Group) and her accomplices on various charges took place.
Lawyer Phan Trung Hoai (defense lawyer for Ms. Truong My Lan) conducted the questioning of defendant Truong My Lan regarding the case and the allegations in the indictment.
In response to the lawyer’s questions, defendant Truong My Lan said: “Since my arrest until today, I would like to thank the competent authorities for their concern about my health and for helping me stay mentally stable. I respect the content of the indictment and the statements of all the other defendants.”
According to the defendant Lan, her mother was a small trader at Ben Thanh market, and her family accumulated assets, which enabled them to establish the company. In 1992, Mr. Chu Lap Co came to Ho Chi Minh City to invest, and the two of them chose Vietnam as the place for long-term career development.
Defendant Truong My Lan and her accomplices at the trial on the morning of March 12th
When invited to merge three banks to establish SCB, the defendant mobilized friends both inside and outside the country to participate in shareholding. In terms of business, the defendant had confidence that with the merger of the three banks, they could succeed, which is why they dared to take risks in borrowing secured assets.
“The assets of mine and my friends were put into the restructuring of SCB, so they thought I had power,” said defendant Lan.
The defendant claimed to only know about business and lending assets, knowing nothing about banking operations or SCB.
In response to questions regarding the ecological relationship of Van Thinh Phat, which had a total of 1,000 “ghost” companies that carried out loans for the defendant to withdraw and use money, the defendant claimed that these companies had no connection to Van Thinh Phat.
The defendant hoped that the panel of judges would consider the amount of money in question regarding misappropriation of assets, as well as charges of embezzlement.
“Furthermore, I would like to transfer the 1,000 billion VND that Mr. Nguyen Cao Tri used to mitigate the consequences to SCB because SCB currently needs money urgently. I would like to authorize the State Bank to handle my shares, my child’s shares, and my friends’ shares to resolve and mitigate the consequences,” Ms. Lan responded to the lawyer and the panel of judges.
