Truong My Lan case: The prosecutor cannot propose a sentence yet, many details are confusing

On November 12, due to insufficient grounds to propose a sentence, the High-level People's Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City resumed questioning defendant Truong My Lan and 47 accomplices, causing damage to Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) of more than VND677,000 billion, in phase 1.

"Only after going to court did I learn that restructuring was a violation of the law. I lost money and went to jail. I did not sign anything at SCB and did not withdraw money from this bank, I only borrowed new money to pay old money. But I will take responsibility for SCB brothers. I hope the court will consider the crime with an appropriate sentence, giving me a chance to return home," the defendant choked up.

The representative of the Procuracy asked the defendant Truong My Lan about the 658 asset codes in Appendix 9. The defendant stated that among the 658 asset codes, there were two major projects: the Saigon Port project and the Amigo super project. If the project was developed at the right time and in a timely manner, it would bring in no less than 200,000 billion VND.

Defendant Lan affirmed that these 658 asset codes do not guarantee any other loans, so the defendant agreed to use them to remedy the consequences for SCB. If SCB does not have enough assets, the defendant is willing to use the assets to support SCB's restructuring.

"For the 440 undetermined asset codes, the book value is about 620,000 billion VND, but according to the defendant, how much is it in reality?", the representative of the Procuracy asked.

"According to the defendant's experience, it is over 100,000 billion VND. As for project 6A, according to Hoang Quan Company's valuation, it is about 16,000 billion VND," defendant Lan replied.

Regarding the amount of 5,000 billion VND that the defendant paid to SCB to increase capital, defendant Lan stated that some of it was under her name, and some was under the name of other people. The defendant also voluntarily paid this amount to remedy the consequences of the case. Previously, after the first instance trial, defendant Truong My Lan and her family also paid 580 billion VND to help remedy the consequences of the case.

In addition, defendant Lan also said that he had about 2,000 petitions from people asking for a reduced sentence for him, and that he used to do social work.

Because there are still many issues that need to be clarified regarding the defendant Lan's large assets, the court agreed to allow the Procuracy to temporarily suspend the trial until November 15 to propose a sentence.

Previously, during the interrogation, the defendant Lan did not plead guilty, only asking the court to consider reducing the sentence from the death penalty. The defendant Lan's family has paid 580 billion VND to help the defendant remedy the consequences for SCB.

At the same time, defendant Lan requested SCB to return 5,000 billion VND that she had previously put into SCB to increase its charter capital, to compensate the bank itself. The defendant also requested the court to review many seized assets to return them to her niece, defendant Truong Hue Van (General Director of Van Thinh Phat Group), her daughter and mother.

According to the first instance verdict, defendant Lan is the owner of the Van Thinh Phat Group ecosystem. The defendant owns and controls more than 91.5% of SCB shares, is the person who actually has the absolute power to direct and operate all activities of SCB; select and arrange key personnel at SCB.

Ms. Truong My Lan is the most controversial figure of the time, when she was accused of causing a large loss of money, causing serious consequences.

Since then, during the period from 2011 to 2022, defendant Lan has directed former key leaders at SCB to disburse more than 2,500 loans to the group of defendants with a total amount of more than 1 million billion VND, accounting for 93% of the bank's loans.

By 2022, the defendant Lan's group still had 1,284 loans, with an outstanding debt at SCB of more than VND 677,000 billion (nearly VND 484,000 billion in principal, more than VND 193,000 billion in interest), in the group of irrecoverable debts.

Truong My Lan case: Paying an additional 20 million to remedy the consequences was recommended to reduce the sentence by 1 year JLO16:50:40 12/10/2024On October 12, after three weeks of work, the trial of defendant Truong My Lan and 33 other defendants ended the debate. According to the announcement of the presiding judge, the panel of judges will announce the verdict at 8:00 a.m. on October 17.