Truong My Lan gave up and said her last words, her husband was praised to the skies.

On November 26, the appeal hearing of the Van Thinh Phat Group case (phase 1) continued the debate with the response of Ms. Truong My Lan. After that, the defendants were given the final say before the panel of judges deliberated.

Truong My Lan said this case was "so horrible" that it destroyed many of her dreams and hopes and those of the other defendants.

"The defendant has been involved in business all his life, and has never slept with his children. The projects built by the defendant and his wife all bear the mark of Vietnam in the international arena, with foreign investors.

The defendant did not know where to turn, where to complain, only thinking about how to repay the debt to the State Bank and the people. I do not mention the losses to myself and my family, but I am heartbroken at the waste of national resources, projects that have just started have been stalled" - Ms. Lan said with a choked voice.

Ms. Lan continued to request the People's Court to reconsider the crime of "Embezzlement of property" and the assets with a total value of 87,000 billion VND lent to SCB Bank for restructuring.

This defendant said that if there is any remaining money after paying off the debt, she wants to put it into a fund to build an international hospital, collect money from the rich and provide free medical treatment to the poor; open schools and build social housing; and invest in infrastructure.

"I am almost 70 years old this year. If the court reduces the sentence to 20 years in prison, I don't know if I will live until then," said Ms. Lan.

In addition, Ms. Lan also asked the panel of judges to consider reducing the sentence for her husband, defendant Chu Lap Co.

"The defendant's husband did not take money from SCB Bank, but on the contrary, lent the Time Square building to settle debts. Until now, the defendant still does not know what crime he committed."

Previously, in the response, Ms. Lan asked the panel of judges to review the data on the charges of "Embezzlement of property" and "Violation of regulations on lending in the operations of credit institutions".

"The defendant is not afraid of the crime, but is not satisfied. Even though he only owns 5% of the shares and his family owns about 15%, he still stands up to solve everything and handle the debts for SCB Bank" - Ms. Lan explained.

This defendant also expressed his anger when SCB Bank refused to provide data and information related to the old debt before the merger.

"From the beginning, SCB Bank provided ambiguous and unclear data to the investigation agency. This led to the current unclear data on accountability. The unclear data has affected countless lives," Ms. Lan explained.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chu Lap Co (Mrs. Lan's husband) held a piece of paper containing the content of the last words for about 15 minutes.

"I have been thinking about my family for the past two years, since I was detained. This is a thrilling story about fate. Over the past 30 years, I have gone from being a foreigner to becoming a son-in-law in Vietnam. My wife is Truong My Lan - a wonderful wife and mother. She has shown her loyalty to the country," defendant Chu Lap Co said.

According to defendant Co, his wife Truong My Lan has shown good qualities towards her family and her homeland. His wife, along with her niece Truong Hue Van, has saved millions of lives in the community during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"My wife followed the call of the authorities to merge 3 banks into SCB, but unfortunately fell into today's situation. Therefore, I respectfully ask the court to recognize her volunteer efforts towards the community," said the husband of defendant Truong My Lan.

Defendant Chu Lap Co said he, his wife and family will comply with the court's decision. At the same time, the defendant asked the court to reduce his wife's sentence to the lowest possible level.

"I wonder why I became a criminal like this. As a son-in-law of Vietnam, I wish the best for the country," defendant Chu Lap Co concluded his final statement.

Truong My Lan needs to pay 280 trillion to escape the death penalty, how much is the compensation money now? Hoàng Phúc17:41:27 25/11/2024On November 25, a representative of the High People's Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City responded to the defense of Ms. Truong My Lan (Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat) and her accomplices.