The trial of Truong My Lan and her accomplices continued this morning (September 25) with the cross-examination of the defendants in the money laundering charges.
At the end of the cross-examination of Lan’s former subordinates, the judge asked her opinion on their testimonies. Lan replied that she respected them and had no comments.
“I just hope the court will reconsider the amount of money I am accused of laundering, which is VND 445 trillion. I believe that over the course of 10 years, my actions were consistent with those in the first phase of the trial.
However, with that amount of money, I am being charged with four crimes: Violation of banking regulations, embezzlement, money laundering, and illegal cross-border currency transportation,” Lan stated.
Truong My Lan. Photo: TP |
Lan argued that the amount of money she transferred abroad was much less than the amount transferred to Vietnam from overseas.
Additionally, Lan asserted that she did not instruct SCB leaders to allocate funds for her personal purposes.
Clarifying her statement, Lan acknowledged that the testimonies of SCB leaders, such as Truong Khanh Hoang and Tran Thi My Dung, were not false. A portion of the funds was used to repay loans.
“Their statements are not entirely clear and may be misinterpreted to make my situation appear worse. Some of the disbursed funds from SCB were used to repay old loans,” Lan explained.
When asked by the judge if she used the money to repay loans from other banks, Lan replied that Van Thinh Phat did not borrow from any other financial institutions. “I never borrow money from anyone, nor do I use the name of Van Thinh Phat to do so,” she expressed.
Regarding the old loans, Lan argued that they were SCB’s loans for debt restructuring and not for repaying Van Thinh Phat’s loans.
Concerning the deposits into credit cards, Lan admitted that she frequently lived abroad and primarily used credit cards from foreign banks.
“At the time, SCB leaders begged me to open a credit card, so I did. When I made purchases with the credit card, I always used my own money to pay the bills. I never used SCB’s money,” Lan explained.
Chu Lap Co. Photo: TC |
Speaking about her personal driver, Bui Van Dung, Lan described him as “not a money-driven person,” which is why she trusted him with money transfers. However, she claimed that the money did not come from SCB or bond sales but from her FDI project, which involved a significant amount of capital.
“All the money I asked the driver to deliver was my own, not from SCB,” Lan stated.
According to the indictment, after committing embezzlement and fraud through the issuance of bonds, Lan instructed her subordinates to transfer money out of the SCB system or withdraw cash from accounts to sever the money trail and legitimize the illegal source of VND 445 trillion.
Chu Lap Co, Lan’s husband, admitted to using money from the Visa cards but claimed he was unaware that it was obtained through criminal means until the investigation.
“I thought the cards were paid for by my business activities in Vietnam and had no idea they were from illegal sources,” Co stated.
The indictment states that from January 1, 2018, to October 7, 2022, while living in Vietnam and traveling abroad (China, France, England…), Chu Lap Co spent VND 225.5 billion using credit cards issued by SCB.
Over VND 113 billion of this amount came from fake loans at SCB, more than VND 80 billion from loans that had been repaid with other fake loans, nearly VND 32 billion from embezzlement and unpaid loans, and the rest from fraud through the issuance and sale of An Dong Company’s bonds.
Additionally, from 2018 to October 7, 2022, Chu Lap Co used over VND 33 billion, which Truong My Lan had instructed her employees to deposit into his Visa and Master cards. The investigation determined that this money was obtained through Lan’s criminal activities.
Thanh Phuong
Wealthy Driver: The Story of a Privileged Chauffeur’s Perks and Adventures.
A lucky chauffeur, skilled in the art of discretion and trusted with immense responsibility, finds himself with a unique perk—a generous tip of 500,000 VND for each trip to SCB, where he securely transports pre-packed cash for his esteemed employer, Ms. Truong My Lan.
“The personal chauffeur of Truong My Lan, with a stoic and unwavering demeanor, revealed a fascinating insight into the world of high-stakes finances. With a nod to his discreet and trusted role, he shared that upon instruction, he would embark on a journey to the SCB Bank, a place where fortunes are made and secured. His task was simple yet laden with intrigue: to collect a substantial sum of money, carefully packaged and boxed, ready to be discreetly transported back to its final destination.”
The $360 Million Scandal: Tan Hoang Minh’s Chairman Do Anh Dung Faces Trial.
The upcoming trial of Do Anh Dung, the chairman of Tan Hoang Minh Group, on fraud charges involving VND 8,600 billion and over 6,000 investors, will be heard by the appellate court on September 25.
The Tan Hoang Minh Group Chairman’s Sentence Reduction Request: A Plea for Leniency
The prosecution acknowledged that Mr. Do Anh Dung has made significant contributions to society and that his family has taken steps to rectify the consequences of the case. They have requested a partial consideration of the defendant’s appeal.
The Elderly Woman in Binh Duong Borrowed Money to Send to Strangers Out of Fear of ‘Going to Jail’
“Despite her family’s desperate attempts to stop her, an elderly woman from Binh Duong fell prey to a cunning scam. The fraudster, posing as a police officer, demanded a transfer of 50 million VND, threatening to incarcerate her in Bo La detention camp if she failed to comply. Sadly, the woman, convinced by the imposter’s deceitful words, borrowed money from her children to fulfill the scammer’s demands.”
