On September 20, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court continued the trial of Truong My Lan and 33 other defendants in a case of fraud, money laundering, and illegal cross-border currency transportation involving Van Thinh Phat Group Joint Stock Company, Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), and related entities.
Ho Buu Phuong, former deputy general director in charge of finance at Van Thinh Phat Group, was the first to be examined.
Ho Buu Phuong at the first-instance trial of Van Thinh Phat case.
According to the indictment, Ho Buu Phuong was identified as the key person who instructed companies under the Van Thinh Phat Group to prepare legal documents and financial statements. He also coordinated with Phan Chi Luan, a member of the Group’s Board of Directors, to devise a “fund release” scheme, thereby facilitating fund transfers between companies. Phuong was accused of actively assisting Truong My Lan in issuing bonds of An Dong, Quang Thuan, and Sunny World companies, appropriating nearly VND 28,000 billion from more than 33,000 victims.
Defendant Ho Buu Phuong admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment and stated that there was no miscarriage of justice, but he objected to being accused of being Truong My Lan’s active accomplice. Phuong claimed that he was just a salaried employee, using his expertise to support the bond issuance as directed.
The defendant stated that the decision to issue bonds was made during a meeting with Truong My Lan. After receiving her instructions, the units under the Van Thinh Phat Group coordinated with related parties to complete the dossiers and issue the bonds according to the planned schedule.
However, he admitted that he did not fully understand the legal aspects of this conduct and was surprised by the large number of bond purchasers. Ho Buu Phuong also expressed regret and affirmed that he did not benefit from the bond issuance.
The former deputy general director of finance of Van Thinh Phat Group further stated that the issued bond packages were unsecured. To carry out the issuance process, he directed some people in the group to manipulate fake cash flow to ensure the issuance plan. Phuong admitted that without collateral, the bond issuance would not have been successful.
“The signing of the promised share transfer contracts between partner companies and individuals was actually just a technique,” Phuong said, acknowledging that he had assisted Truong My Lan in appropriating more than VND 27,000 billion from the bond issuance of the three companies.
However, he asserted that he was only responsible for ensuring the successful bond issuance, and as for the use and management of the proceeds from the bond sales, he was uncertain and could only guess that the person with the highest authority, Ms. Lan, would know.
Defendant Truong My Lan at the trial.
Next, Nguyen Phuong Anh, former deputy general director of Saigon Peninsula Joint Stock Company (SPG), also admitted to the crimes as charged. The defendant stated that she only followed Truong My Lan’s instructions and mainly supervised the accountants’ financial activities at the “shell” companies belonging to the SPG Group.
According to Phuong Anh’s testimony, Ho Buu Phuong directed the use of 94 hired individuals to sign documents for fake deposits/withdrawals and established five cooperation agreements regarding An Dong Company lending a total of over VND 29,000 billion to SPG Company. Phuong Anh also coordinated with Phan Chi Luan to devise a plan to promise the transfer of shares to SPG, Hoang Gia Khai, and Song Thu companies to complete the fake transaction chain and create a fake cash flow for the bonds.
Defendant Phuong Anh affirmed that besides her monthly salary, she did not receive any other benefits from the bond issuance.
According to the charges, Nguyen Phuong Anh’s actions aided Truong My Lan and her accomplices in issuing bonds at four companies: An Dong, Sunny World, Quang Thuan, and Setra, appropriating more than VND 30,081 billion from over 35,000 victims.
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