Chairman of Van Thinh Phat wants to use all legal assets to remedy the consequences

On March 5, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court will open a first-instance criminal trial to try defendants related to violations occurring at Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) and related units.

In this case, defendant Truong My Lan (Chairman of Van Thinh Phat Group) was prosecuted for three crimes: "Embezzlement of property", "Bribery" and "Violation of regulations on lending in the operations of credit institutions". Defendant Lan was determined to have played a key role, causing damage and appropriating hundreds of thousands of billions of VND from SCB.

The Supreme People's Procuracy's indictment prosecuted the defendant Lan according to the provisions of the 1999 Penal Code. According to the provisions of the 1999 Penal Code, the 2015 Penal Code and Resolution No. 41/2017 of the National Assembly on the implementation of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, crimes committed before January 1, 2018 are handled according to the corresponding articles and clauses of the 1999 Penal Code.

Violations that occur after January 1, 2018 will be handled according to the articles and provisions of the 2015 Penal Code, taking into account the principle of benefiting the defendants.

Defendant Truong My Lan before being arrested.

From the investigation results, the prosecution agencies have reviewed and classified the defendants according to specific crimes, corresponding to the position, role, quantity, nature, level of behavior and fault of each defendant.

The criminal acts of the defendant Lan were determined to have occurred over a long period of time, before the Penal Code 2015, amended and supplemented in 2017, came into effect. When prosecuting the defendant Lan, the prosecution agency applied the principle of favoring the accused, so it applied the Penal Code 1999 to the defendant Lan for the crime of "Violating regulations on lending in the activities of credit institutions".

Lawyer Giang Hong Thanh ( Hanoi Bar Association) is one of the five lawyers defending defendant Lan. Sharing with CAND Newspaper reporters, lawyer Giang Hong Thanh said that before the trial, defendant Lan's health was good.

Despite suffering from many illnesses and having to take nearly 10 types of medicine every day, the infirmary and the detention center doctors never let defendant Lan lack medicine. Mentally, defendant Lan is stable, steadfast, and does not complain, blame, or resent anyone.

Because defendant Lan's family lives far away, the prosecution agency and detention facilities allow the lawyer to send food, necessities, and medicine to defendant Lan on behalf of the family 2 to 3 times a month.

Through her defense attorney, defendant Lan expressed her willingness to bring all her legal assets as well as mobilize her family and call on friends to help ensure a thorough resolution of financial and economic issues related to the consequences of the case in case the court finds defendant Lan guilty and responsible for compensation and redress.

Defendant Lan’s family has provided the prosecution agencies with a list of more than 10 assets of great value and unrelated to the case to request a solution. Before the trial, defendant Lan hopes that the prosecution agencies will thoroughly consider all issues to issue a reasonable decision for her and others in the case.

(Source: People's Police Newspaper)

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