Van Thinh Phat chairwoman accused of 'money laundering'

Real estate developer Van Thinh Phat chairwoman Truong My Lan has been accused of “money laundering” after using over VND304 trillion ($12.53 billion) she had appropriated from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) to buy properties and make money transfers abroad, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Speaking at a year-end press meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday, Major General Nguyen Van Thanh, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Department for Corruption, Smuggling and Economic Crimes (C03), said the investigation into the case at Van Thinh Phat Group, SCB and relevant units had ended its first phase, during which Lan was accused of bribery, violating banking regulations and embezzlement.

In the second phase, the investigative agency will focus on investigating her acts of fraudulent property appropriation and money laundering, he said.

On December 15, the Supreme People’s Procuracy issued an indictment against Lan and 85 other defendants in the case.

According to the indictment, from 2012 to October 2022, Lan directed her subordinates to make false documents to take out more than 2,500 loans with a total value of over VND1,066 trillion ($43.88 billion).

The Van Thinh Phat chairwoman was accused of appropriating more than VND304 trillion ($12.53 billion) from the private lender where she allegedly controlled more than a 90% stake.

She also directed the spending of $5.2 million on bribes to Do Thi Nhan, former head of the State Bank of Vietnam's banking inspection and supervision department II, to facilitate her crimes.

Also at the press conference, Phan Thanh Ba, deputy director of the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigative Security Department (A09), gave more details about the case of “violating regulations on management and use of state assets, causing losses and waste; showing lack of responsibility, causing serious consequences; giving bribes; and accepting bribes” that occurred at Xuyen Viet Oil Travel and Transport Trading Company Limited and related agencies.

According to Ba, A09 has launched legal proceedings against and arrested seven people involved in this case, including former Party Central Committee member and former chief of Ben Tre province’s Party Committee Le Duc Tho, for “abuse of positions to influence others for personal gains”; Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai, and director of Ho Chi Minh City’s Department of Finance Le Duy Minh for “taking bribes.”

Tho was found to have committed violations while holding the position of Secretary of the Ben Tre provincial Party Committee, Ba said.

Dang Cong Khoi, deputy head of the Ministry of Finance’s Price Management Department; and Hoang Anh Tuan, deputy director of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, were also arrested for “showing lack of responsibility causing serious consequences.”

Mai Thi Hong Hanh, director of Xuyen Viet Oil, and her deputy Nguyen Thi Nhu Phuong were the first to be arrested in September for their roles in this case. They were charged with “violating regulations on management and use of state assets, causing losses and waste” under Article 219 of the Criminal Code.

Established in 2005 with headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City, Xuyen Viet Oil is one of 37 gasoline trading units in Vietnam. On August 11, the company had its gasoline import and export license, issued on November 19, 2021 and valid until November 2026, revoked by the Minister of Industry and Trade.

According to a 2022 police inspection, Xuyen Viet Oil had committed many violations in its gasoline business activities, such as failing to meet the distribution condition of having at least 40 general agents or retail agents or franchisees.