On March 25, the Ho Chi Minh City High-Level People’s Court will open an appeal trial in the Van Thinh Phat case, following an appeal submitted by Truong My Lan and 27 accomplices requesting reduced sentences.
Previously, in October 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced Truong My Lan to life imprisonment for “Fraudulent Appropriation of Property,” eight years for “Money Laundering,” and 12 years for “Illegal Cross-Border Currency Transportation.” The total sentence for these charges is life imprisonment.
During the first trial, Truong My Lan voluntarily handed over her assets, including real estate, to mitigate the consequences of her actions and requested leniency. One of the notable properties surrendered was the Capital Place building located at 29 Lieu Giai, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.
Truong My Lan. Photo: Nguyen Hue |
According to the investigation results, the Capital Place building is owned by Twin Peaks Joint Stock Company. This company has three contributing shareholders: Vibrant Growth Pte Ltd (Singapore) holding 51% of the shares, Vibrant Growth Three Pte. Ltd (Singapore) with 4%, and Saigon Helios Joint Stock Company with 45%.
The Capital Place building was mortgaged to HSBC Bank Limited (Singapore) and HSBC Vietnam Limited Liability One-Member Bank to secure a loan with an outstanding principal amount of nearly $198 million.
During the trial, Lan requested the People’s Court to lift the blockade and seizure of Twin Peaks’ shares to allow the company to fulfill its obligations to foreign banks. After repaying the debt, the remaining value of Twin Peaks’ assets would be used to compensate for the consequences of this case.
On October 6, 2024, Twin Peaks proposed to pay more than VND 2,112 billion to ensure remedy for the case on behalf of Truong My Lan and requested the People’s Court to cancel and lift the seizure order on the property.
The company committed to prioritizing the settlement of debts with banks, taxes, and mandatory financial obligations. Any remaining funds would be used to pay off other financial obligations, cover expenses, and serve as a reserve for Twin Peaks to ensure the company’s stability and continued compensation for Truong My Lan, if necessary.
The investigation concluded that Vibrant Growth Pte Ltd and Vibrant Growth Three Pte. Ltd are both subsidiaries of Viva CP PTE LTD, wholly owned by Chu Duyet Phan, Truong My Lan’s daughter. Meanwhile, Saigon Helios Joint Stock Company is effectively owned by Truong My Lan and Van Thinh Phat Group. The Capital Place building at 29 Lieu Giai is also owned by Lan, who had Twin Peaks hold ownership of the property on her behalf.
According to the first-instance verdict, the court acknowledged the legitimate credit relationship between Twin Peaks and the banks: OCB Bank, OCBC Ltd – Ho Chi Minh City Branch, HSBC Bank Limited (Singapore), and HSBC Vietnam Limited Liability One-Member Bank. As the debts have reached their repayment dates, the court decided to lift the seizure and hand over the Capital Place building at 29 Lieu Giai to these three banks for debt recovery.
The disposal of the secured asset to recover the debts will be supervised by the Supreme People’s Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Police Agency (C03), and the competent enforcement agency.
After the disposal of the secured asset to settle the above loans, to ensure the comprehensive recovery of the remaining asset value to remedy the consequences of the entire case, the court also requested the competent enforcement agency to coordinate with C03 and the Supreme People’s Procuracy to handle the remaining asset value according to the law to ensure Truong My Lan’s compensation obligations.
Thanh Phuong
– 05:00, March 20, 2025
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