Zhang Meilan burst into tears and said his last words, tormenting him every night in the detention center

In the afternoon of April 3, the trial of the case that occurred at Van Thinh Phat Group and Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) ended the argument. Defendant Truong My Lan and the defendants present at the trial were given the last word before the court entered the deliberations.

As the first of the 79 defendants, Ms. Zhang Meilan choked back tears.

"I would like to thank the council for allowing me to have the last word before deliberating. Since the first instance trial opened for more than 1 month, I thank the police agencies for encouraging and taking care of me. Thank you to the jury for presiding over the democratic trial, enabling me to present many issues related to my crime. I still believe and hope that this is a fair trial for me and the defendants. My family and I would like to acknowledge the dedication of our lawyers during this time," Lan said.

Lan said that until the days of the trial, when she returned to the detention center, she always wondered every night why she and her family were in such a tragic situation.

"During the days of the trial, when I returned to the detention center, I kept asking every night: Why did my family and I get into this situation? I still remember the day I was taken into custody walking on the street on the evening of October 26, 2022, no one told me anything... At times of despair I thought about deat.h, seeing unfair competition chasing me all this time. During my days in the detention center, I thought a lot about my children and relatives, and I still don't know why today," Lan choked back tears.

Lan said that the fateful turning point that led to her facing the deat.h penalty today was because she participated in the process of merging 3 weak banks, while she had absolutely no knowledge or experience in the field of banking operations.

"Before the council decided on the sentence against me and the defendants, I understood that it was because of my ignorance of the law and unforeseen circumstances that I believed in the hope of a successful restructuring of SCB that my family, friends and relatives put all their assets into securing SCB restructuring loans." Lan expressed.

According to Lan, when she heard the impeachment opinions and responses of VKS representatives, she could not believe that the words considered her to be the "leading mastermind, with absolute power, governing the entire operation of the SCB, using sophisticated and cunning methods, etc stubbornly denying guilt, blaming subordinates...".

"There was an obvious fact at the trial on the charge of embezzlement of property charged against me. Lawyers and VKS are still arguing on this issue. I am a businessman with a somewhat limited understanding of the law, not fully understanding the arguments that VKS gives. In my final remarks, I earnestly ask the JSC to hear the defense opinions of my lawyers and mine to reconsider the charge and provide evidence of the crime of embezzlement of property, and earnestly urge the JSC to consider the crime of "embezzlement of property" and offering bribes." Zhang Meilan said.

According to Ms. Lan, throughout the investigation process until the trial, she always seriously acknowledged her responsibility for the "violation of lending regulations in the operation of credit institutions" and was responsible with some defendants who were members of the Board of Directors. SCB management and the defendants are involved with SCB as to the damages of the case.

Truong My Lan "washed" more than 445,700 billion VND, the Department of Prevention and Control did not know Pinky13:29:13 09/06/2024Continuing further investigation in the Truong My Lan case, Van Thinh Phat's owner in 4 years laundered an amount of more than 445,700 billion VND. The Department of Prevention and Control was also unaware of her embezzlement process.