Truong My Lan asked for back 2 albino Hermes bags and dozens of carat jewelry as souvenirs.

On September 27, the People's Court questioned defendant Truong My Lan (Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat) and accomplices related to objects, evidence, and documents seized during the investigation.

In court, defendant Truong My Lan stated that during the investigation, many of her assets were seized, including three savings books belonging to her daughter. The owner of Van Thinh Phat said that this was a small amount of money for her children to spend. When asked if her daughter was present in court, Ms. Lan replied: "She is undergoing medical treatment and is not in Vietnam."

At the same time, Ms. Lan said that during the investigation, authorities seized many personal belongings such as handbags, phones, and shoes.

"When I was arrested, two albino Hermes bags were confiscated. One I bought in Italy and the other was given to me by a Malaysian tycoon. These bags are not worth much, I want to leave them to my children and grandchildren as souvenirs, so I ask the jury to consider allowing me to get these bags back," defendant Lan stated.

In addition, Ms. Lan said that several desktop computers were confiscated. According to the defendant, these devices were used to store family photos for the past 50 years and were not related to the case. She asked the panel of judges to consider returning them to her.

In addition, the President of Van Thinh Phat Group stated that when she was arrested, she was wearing a set of jewelry given to her by her mother as a souvenir worth dozens of carats, but it was not mentioned in the case file. The defendant asked the court to check it for her.

Specifically, the defendant stated that when he was arrested, he was wearing a set of diamond jewelry left by his mother, including a pair of 6-karat earrings, a 15-karat necklace, and a "ten-karat" ring. "The defendant wants to get it back, he considers it a lucky item," said Ms. Lan.

At this time, the presiding judge explained that the evidence and objects seized would be recorded and kept on file, and the court would re-examine them. At the same time, the presiding judge asked the defendant to contact his family to re-examine the jewelry.

Regarding the remaining assets in the case that are being seized, blocked, and frozen, Ms. Lan said that she has no opinion on anything related to her and Mr. Chu Lap Co. As for the accounts related to her relatives, the owner of Van Thinh Phat asked the court to consider returning them.

Next, defendant Ngo Thanh Nha (Mrs. Lan’s sister-in-law) said that during the investigation, a savings book worth 10 billion VND was confiscated. In court, this woman said that the above amount of money was accumulated by her husband and her over many years and asked the court to return it to her husband for expenses and medical treatment.

The remaining defendants in the case requested the panel of judges to consider returning to them objects and documents unrelated to the case.

During the investigation, the Ministry of Public Security reviewed, recovered, blocked, and prevented transactions of assets and accounts originating from the criminal acts of Ms. Lan, those under her name, and the defendants.

Specifically, the investigation agency seized VND224 billion from Ms. Lan; froze 79 accounts of the defendants worth more than VND92 billion and USD1.6 million; prevented transactions of 205 payment accounts, savings books, TVSI securities accounts of the defendants, related persons, and related legal entities with a total amount of VND824 billion and nearly USD262,000.

Seize and prevent transactions of shares and capital contributions related to Ms. Lan, other defendants and individuals in whose names Ms. Lan has asked them to stand in, with a total converted value of about 12,313 billion VND at many corporations and companies; seize 9 real estates of Ms. Lan and the defendants in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

The court will continue to question the defendants regarding the seized objects and documents. After this part, the panel will question those with related rights and obligations.

Truong My Lan hired 23 companies to transport 106 trillion VND abroad. Thảo Mai22:28:36 12/08/2024The investigation agency determined that 23 domestic and foreign companies received money transfers from abroad and brought back to Vietnam more than 106,000 billion VND for Ms. Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group.