Sacombank refutes Bamboo Airways ex-CEO’s claim on chairman’s involvement in Van Thinh Phat scandal

Sacombank, a mid-sized lender in Vietnam, has rejected allegations by former CEO of Bamboo Airways that its chairman was involved in the notorious Van Thinh Phat scandal and banned from leaving the country.

In an April 1 post on its verified Facebook account “Thang Dang,” Dang Tat Thang, former chairman and CEO of Bamboo Airways, said that Duong Cong Minh, chairman of Sacombank, had been banned from going abroad since Monday for “helping madam [Truong My] Lan ‘launder’” large amounts of money.

Before her arrest in October 2022, Lan was chairwoman of real estate firm Van Thinh Phat and other companies in its ecosystem. She is standing trial for “misappropriation of assets”, “bribing”, and “violations of banking regulations.”

In a document sent to relevant authorities and press agencies, signed by CEO Nguyen Duc Thach Diem, Sacombank says the allegations are “totally fabricated and slanderous” and an attempt to “defame Sacombank's leaders.”

Duong Cong Minh has absolutely no link with the Van Thinh Phat case, the document says. It calls for Thang, who has “repeatedly fabricated claims and defamed Sacombank leaders,” to be dealt with appropriately

After leaving all positions at Bamboo Airways and FLC Group, Thang has set up his own business and is believed to be residing in Australia.

Before the Tuesday break, the VN-Index, which tracks the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, was trading down 0.45% at 1,275.76 points. Shares of Sacombank, listed on the bourse as STB, fell 2.39% to VND30,650 ($1.23), with 84 million units traded, four times the daily average volume over the past month.