Saigon Commercial Bank to auction assets linked to convicted Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan

Vietnam’s private lender Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) has announced a plan to hold auctions for eight asset codes - corresponding to 12 collateral assets - linked to the case involving Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group.

The bank on Monday stated that it is “ready with necessary resources to handle assets” in the case. The assets have completed legal procedures for valuation and auction. They were assigned by the court to the bank for disposal under previously signed mortgage agreements.

They include real estate, comprising land-use rights and attached assets; vehicles and machinery and equipment used for production and business activities; consumer goods such as clothing, handbags and fashion accessories - about 8,521 items; and other types of inventory totaling around 370,859 items.

The plan to auction the asset codes will be carried out in two phases.

In the first phase, SCB will select a qualified bidding consultancy to assist the bank in surveying the assets, developing bidding criteria, preparing tender documents and selecting the most capable contractor to handle the assets.

In the second phase, the bank will choose a qualified asset-handling firm to conduct valuation and auction procedures, ensuring the process is carried out publicly and transparently while maximizing asset recovery to help address damages in the case.

In 2025, SCB reviewed and classified 1,120 asset codes, while initiating procedures to establish its rights to manage and dispose of them.

According to the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City, Lan was the owner of many companies operating under a model in which Van Thinh Phat Group plays a central role.

Before Saigon Commercial Bank, Ficombank and TinNghia Bank merged to form the new Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) in early 2012, Lan borrowed from these three banks to carry out real estate projects.

After learning that the three banks had fallen into a liquidity crisis, Lan acquired shares of these banks. Moreover, to hide the weak situation of SCB and help this bank escape “special control” from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), Lan instructed her subordinates to bribe the central bank’s inspection team.

The trial panel determined that Lan committed three crimes in all, causing particularly great damages. On October 17, 2024, the first-instance trial of the second phase sentenced Lan to life imprisonment for "fraudulent appropriation of assets", 12 years for "money laundering", and eight years for "illegal cross-border money transfers", with a total sentence of life imprisonment.

In April 2025, the appellate court lowered Lan’s sentence for fraud from life to 20 years in prison, while maintaining her sentences for money laundering and illegal cross-border money transfers. However, as the death penalty issued in the first phase has already taken legal effect, Lan is still subject to the death sentence.