Ongoing Land Clearing Project
Concluding the first hearing of the trial involving Van Thinh Phat Group, SCB Bank, and related entities and individuals, the HCM City People’s Court, in addition to sentencing, also ruled that the defendants, relevant parties, and persons with rights and obligations must assume civil liability.
Among them, defendant Truong My Lan must fully compensate for the losses on 1,243 outstanding loans at SCB Bank amounting to VND 673 trillion, after deducting the amounts already paid by the defendants.
Significantly, to ensure the enforcement of the verdict against Ms. Truong My Lan, the Court ordered Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (Quoc Cuong Gia Lai) to return VND 2,882 billion received from Ms. Lan.
Additionally, the Court continued to seize 16 properties with a total area of approximately 1 hectare in Phuoc Kien commune, Nha Be district, and instructed the Ministry of Public Security to continue investigating and resolving this matter in the second phase of the trial.
 A corner of the Bac Phuoc Kien residential area project. |
The VND 2,882.8 billion and 16 properties seized in this case are directly related to the Bac Phuoc Kien residential area project in Phuoc Kien commune, Nha Be district, Ho Chi Minh City. The project covers an area of 91.96 hectares and is invested by Quoc Cuong Gia Lai.
In March 2017, despite not completing the land clearance, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai signed a “sale and purchase agreement” for the project with Sunny Island Investment Joint Stock Company (Sunny Island), a business in the Van Thinh Phat ecosystem. The project’s transfer value was VND 4,800 billion.
As per the agreement, by September 10, 2017, Sunny Island had to pay the entire amount to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai. In return, Sunny Island would hold land documents totaling 65 hectares of the project that the investor had already compensated for.
Quoc Cuong Gia Lai ‘Benefits’ from VND 2,882 billion
However, when the deadline arrived, Sunny Island had only paid VND 2,882 billion to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai. Of this amount, VND 1,150 billion was transferred to BIDV Bank to release another project for Quoc Cuong Gia Lai, and VND 1,732 billion was transferred to this company to cover compensation costs for the project.
Claiming that Sunny Island had breached its payment obligations, in March 2018, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai notified the latter of the termination of the contract and requested the return of land documents. A dispute ensued, and in December 2020, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai filed a lawsuit against Sunny Island at the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC).
While the dispute was being adjudicated by VIAC, Sunny Island unexpectedly filed a complaint with the Ho Chi Minh City Police about Quoc Cuong Gia Lai selling the project before completing the compensation.
At the end of May 2023, VIAC issued its final verdict. In addition to VND 3.4 billion in arbitration fees, VIAC also ordered Sunny Island to return all land compensation documents to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai. With this decision, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai was entitled to keep the VND 2,882 billion.
The dispute over the Bac Phuoc Kien residential area project has not yet come to an end, as Sunny Island subsequently twice filed petitions with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court to annul VIAC’s verdict.
In a decision issued in December 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court determined that Sunny Island’s request to annul VIAC’s verdict was unfounded and had no basis, and that the VIAC verdict did not violate any fundamental principles of Vietnamese law.
However, during the process of resolving Sunny Island’s request, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court was informed by the Ministry of Public Security that all compensation documents for the 65 hectares of the Bac Phuoc Kien residential area project were evidence in the case involving Van Thinh Phat Group. Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court granted Sunny Island’s request to annul the VIAC verdict.
Anh Phuong
