To mitigate the consequences of the case, at the trial on March 15, the family of Ms. Truong My Lan said that they had sold assets to raise money for remediation. The real estate properties that must be mentioned include the 5-star Daewoo Hanoi hotel, which is the property of Bong Sen Joint Stock Company, of which Ms. Lan owns 73% stake in the company, or the Capital Place building at 29 Lieu Giai…
However, there is one real estate property that Ms. Lan proposed not to be confiscated but returned to the family for further repairs. That is the ancient villa at 110-112 Vo Van Tan (District 3, Ho Chi Minh City). This is also the only asset that Ms. Lan wants to keep instead of using it to remedy the consequences of the case. “Please, the Court, do not confiscate that house because it cannot be sold and needs to be preserved. It is a Vietnamese heritage,” requested Lan.
Located at the intersection of Vo Van Tan – Ba Huyen Thanh Quan – Nguyen Thi Dieu, this ancient villa has a unique position with three frontages. In 2013, when the real estate market was booming, this villa was sold for $47 million.
In 2015, Ms. Truong My Lan bought back the villa through Minerva Joint Stock Company for a value of $35 million (equivalent to over VND 700 billion at that time’s exchange rate). Minerva Joint Stock Company has 3 founding shareholders, Truong Hue Van (born in 1988) owns 10% of the company’s charter capital with VND 20 billion investment, Truong Lap Hung owns 10% of the company’s charter capital also with VND 20 billion investment, and the largest shareholder is Mary Chu Yuet Fan (Chu Duyet Phan, daughter of Truong My Lan) with 80% of the shares, equivalent to VND 160 billion.
This ancient villa used to be named Southern Villa and was owned by two owners named Dang Kim Chi (born in 1938) and Nguyen Kim Sa Dang (born in 1934). The house was built on a 2,819 square meter land according to the ancient French architecture, with 2-3 stories.
The usable space includes 2 floors with a total built-up area of over 2,500 square meters, designed in the North to South order for each construction block. The main part of the house covers an area of 990 square meters and includes 16 rooms.
According to long-time residents of Saigon, this villa used to be considered one of the most beautiful houses in the city and was owned by a landlord. The architecture of Southern Villa is evaluated to be not inferior to the Governor’s Palace of South Vietnam (now the City Museum) or the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee building.
According to the remaining written documents, the construction materials for this villa were transported from France by sea. The highlights of the villa include the arch gate, moat, pillars, windows, and main entrance, all made of imported wrought iron from France.
The building has 3 entrances: Two main gates on Vo Van Tan Street and one side gate on Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street. The main entrance has two layers of doors, a wooden door on the inside and a push-up iron door on the outside. The roof is roofed with red tiles. At the roof joints, there are lightning rods. To complete this villa, dozens of skilled artisans had to build it for nearly a year.
It is said that Ms. Truong My Lan bought and renovated this villa to stay. According to defendant Truong My Lan, before she was arrested, this villa was being renovated. However, the renovation had to be temporarily stopped from October 2022. At that time, the exterior of the villa was almost complete, the surrounding walls and external facilities were nearly finished.
