Van Thinh Phat chairwoman accused of appropriating $12.53 bln from Saigon Commercial Bank

Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City-based property developer Van Thinh Phat Group, has been accused of controlling operations at Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) to appropriate over VND304 trillion ($12.53 billion), police said on Friday.

The Ministry of Public Security's investigative agency has proposed prosecuting Lan for giving bribes, violating regulations on banking activities, and embezzlement.

Lan was also charged with fraudulent appropriation of property through bond issuance and money laundering. However, the investigative agency has decided to treat this as a separate case pending further investigation.

Relating to the scandal at Van Thinh Phat, SCB and related units, 85 others also face trials for embezzlement; violating regulations on banking activities; receiving bribes; abusing positions and power while performing official duties; showing a lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences; and abusing trust to appropriate property.

According to the investigative agency’s conclusion, Lan did not hold any position at SCB but owned a controlling stake of 85% to 91.5% at the bank. With this stake, she arranged for people she trusted to be given key leadership positions on SCB’s board of directors and executive board, giving her control of all the activities at the bank.

Lan was accused of using SCB to raise capital, then directed her subordinates at the bank and Van Thinh Phat to prepare loan documents to take money from depositors, said investigators.

According to the investigative agency, from 2018 to 2020, Van Thinh Phat Group, An Dong Investment Group JSC, Quang Thuan Investment JSC, HCM City Commercial Services JSC, Sunny World Investment and Development JSC, and other organizations conducted fraudulent activities, deceiving a great number of individuals. They created 25 bond packages with a total value of over VND30 trillion ($1.22 billion) to con 42,000 investors.

In October last year, Truong My Lan and Truong Hue Van, CEO of HCMC-based Windsor Real Estate Management Group JSC; Nguyen Phuong Hong, a staff member of Van Thinh Phat Group; and Ho Buu Phuong, former chairman of Tan Viet Securities and former deputy CEO in charge of finance at Van Thinh Phat, were detained for fraudulently appropriating assets.

On March 28, police arrested Do Thi Nhan, former head of the State Bank of Vietnam's banking inspection and supervision department II, and four others from an inter-sectoral inspection team under the banking inspection and supervision department, for abusing positions and power while performing official duties.

Following the investigation, Nhan was accused of accepting bribes of up to $5.2 million. The investigative agency said she received the large sum of money to cover up the violations of SCB and Truong My Lan.

The police are also calling on two chairpersons and five other leaders of SCB to turn themselves over their involvement in the Van Thinh Phat case.

The wanted list includes SCB's former chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thu Suong; former chairman Dinh Van Thanh; former deputy general director Chiem Minh Dung; former board members Tram Thich Ton, Sun Henry Ka Ziang, and Lam Lee George; and former deputy director of SCB’s Ben Thanh branch Nguyen Lam Anh Vu.