This morning, April 11, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court began sentencing the case of Truong My Lan (68 years old, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat Group) and 84 other defendants who committed crimes, causing damage to Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) of more than 677,000 billion VND, according to the prosecution's accusation. The panel of judges is expected to announce the verdict within 1 day.
By the afternoon of April 11, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced defendant Truong My Lan (68 years old, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat Group) to death for embezzlement, 20 years in prison for bribery, and 20 years in prison for violating regulations on lending in the operations of credit institutions. Total death sentence for Truong My Lan.
Regarding SCB's damages, the panel determined that 1,284 fake loans were the method and trick for Truong My Lan to appropriate more than VND 677,000 billion from SCB - as of October 17, 2022.
At the same time, the entire amount of money was essentially used by Truong My Lan, or directed to be used according to the defendant's wishes, so Truong My Lan is obligated to fully compensate SCB.
However, the panel also found that by April 1, 2024, some of the 1,284 loans had been paid off, and Truong My Lan had paid some compensation, so defendant Truong My Lan only had to compensate more than VND 673,800 billion/1,243 loans.
Truong My Lan was sentenced to death
The panel of judges decided to transfer 1,000 billion VND that defendant Nguyen Cao Tri paid for Truong My Lan to SCB; and transfer all the money that other defendants voluntarily paid for the consequences to SCB to ensure Truong My Lan's obligations in the case.
The People's Court decided to continue to seize real estate properties related to Truong My Lan, including the ancient villa at 112 Vo Van Tan (District 3), and the building at 19 Nguyen Hue (District 1, Ho Chi Minh City)...
The panel of judges of the Truong My Lan - Van Thinh Phat case
ADOLESCENT
The court did not allow Truong My Lan to keep the ancient villa.
Regarding the old villa at 110-112 Vo Van Tan (District 3), the red book of which has not yet been seized, the daughter of the defendant Truong My Lan, Chu Duyet Phan, requested to cancel the seizure. According to the court, the shareholders of the company that owns this building are actually descendants of Truong My Lan, so this is the defendant's property. Therefore, the panel of judges decided to continue the seizure to ensure the defendant's compensation obligation. The People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City only allows the restoration of this property, and the current status cannot be changed.
At the same time, regarding the building at 75 Nguyen Hue that Van Thinh Phat Group leased to SCB, the panel of judges determined that this was the property of Truong My Lan, so it declared to continue to seize it to ensure the obligation to execute the judgment.
Regarding the series of real estate properties in Districts 1, 7, 4, Phu Nhuan... the People's Court also decided to continue to seize them to ensure the civil obligations of defendant Truong My Lan.
In addition, TH Ha Long Joint Stock Company and Au Lac Company received more than 6,090 billion VND from Truong My Lan to transfer 18 million shares. The panel of judges believes that defendant Lan has a very big obligation to fulfill, the money she gave to the above 2 companies is money from SCB. Therefore, the panel of judges believes that it must be recovered for SCB, so TH Ha Long Joint Stock Company and Au Lac Company must return 6,090 billion VND.
Regarding the seized property of defendant Truong Hue Van (niece of Truong My Lan), the court determined that the defendant was raised by defendant Lan since childhood, the nature of the property belongs to the Chairman of Van Thinh Phat, so the court decided to continue to seize it to ensure the obligation to execute the judgment.
Truong My Lan dominates SCB
At around 10:00 a.m. on April 11, the panel of judges determined that the defendants' testimonies in court mostly admitted to the crimes as charged. The testimonies were consistent with each other, with the witnesses, the people involved, and other evidence in the case file, providing sufficient basis to determine that Truong My Lan was the owner of the Van Thinh Phat Group ecosystem (abbreviated as Van Thinh Phat Group).
At the same time, based on documents and testimonies of other defendants at the trial, it is shown that defendant Lan is the real owner 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.
Therefore, the panel of judges did not accept the defense of the defendant Lan and the lawyers that the defendant actually only owned 15% of the shares, including the defendant and her two daughters. During the investigation, the people whose names were on more than 75% of the shares at SCB all admitted to being on behalf of Truong My Lan.
According to the People's Court, SCB is a joint stock commercial bank, according to the law, the decision of the general meeting of shareholders is passed when the majority of shareholders vote to approve. Therefore, by owning over 91.5% of shares at SCB, Truong My Lan actually controlled and essentially managed all activities at this bank.
The defendants before the jury's verdict
NHAT THINH
The court stated its opinion on the charges against Truong My Lan.
According to the panel of judges, all of Truong My Lan's actions in the past 10 years constituted the crime of embezzlement, but before 2018, the crime of embezzlement of property against non-state enterprises had not been prosecuted. Therefore, the prosecution of the defendant on two charges in the two periods before and after January 1, 2018 was appropriate. Therefore, the panel of judges did not accept the defense's view that the prosecution of the defendant Lan on two charges was disadvantageous to the defendant.
The defendant directed the creation of fake loan documents, legalizing 368 loans for 304 customers, with a total outstanding debt of more than 132,000 billion VND. Applying the principle favorable to the defendant, it is determined that Truong My Lan's criminal acts caused losses to SCB of more than 64,600 billion VND, after deducting the value of collateral assets of the loans of over 67,600 billion VND.
During the period from January 1, 2018 to October 7, 2022, Truong My Lan directed the creation of 916 fake loan applications to withdraw and appropriate money from SCB. As of October 17, 2023, these loans had an outstanding principal of more than VND 415,600 billion and an outstanding interest of more than VND 129,300 billion.
During this period, Truong My Lan and her accomplices committed the crime of embezzlement of property as prescribed in Point a, b, Clause 4, Article 353 of the 2015 Penal Code. Applying the principle favorable to the defendant, after deducting the value of the assets securing the loans, it is determined that Truong My Lan appropriated more than VND 304,000 billion of the principal balance, and caused a loss of more than VND 129,000 billion of interest arising from the above-mentioned misappropriated principal amount.
Defendant Truong My Lan on the morning of April 11
NHAT THINH
At 11 o'clock, the panel of judges continued to present a comprehensive view of the case, affirming that "there must be the most severe sentence" for Truong My Lan.
After listening to the panel of judges' comments on her behavior, Truong My Lan caused a ruckus, so the panel of judges had to remind her and ask the police to ensure order in the courtroom.
Truong My Lan's request to transfer 1,350 billion VND (paid by Nguyen Cao Tri and another person) to defendant Truong Hue Van (Truong My Lan's niece) to compensate for the damage was not accepted by the panel of judges. Because according to the court, defendant Lan has a very large obligation to compensate, and her assets are not enough to compensate.
Regarding defendant Chu Lap Co (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Times Square Investment Joint Stock Company), according to the court, the defendant has a limited role because he is a foreigner, does not know Vietnamese, and is dependent on his wife, defendant Truong My Lan.
Defendant Chu Lap Co is the first Hong Kong businessman to invest in Vietnam, was awarded the Labor Medal by the Vietnamese State, and received many certificates of merit from the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee for his active participation and contributions to the community through charitable activities and Covid-19 prevention.
Defendant Chu Lap Co on the morning of April 11
NHAT THINH
Claiming $5.2 million to protect family... is "baseless"
Regarding the inspection activities of the State Bank Inspection Team at SCB, the panel of judges determined that during the inspection process, Truong My Lan met, discussed, and exchanged with Do Thi Nhan (former Director of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Department II), Head of the inspection team. At the same time, the defendant directed Vo Tan Hoang Van (General Director of SCB) to give 5.2 million USD to Do Thi Nhan.
In addition, SCB also gave money and gifts to compensate members of the Inspection Team, the highest being 390,000 USD.
From there, Do Thi Nhan concealed, reported dishonestly and incompletely the violations of SCB in a way that was mitigating and beneficial to SCB so that this bank would not be put under special control and continued to propose and propose creating conditions for restructuring.
According to the panel of judges, the defendants in the inspection team, for personal gain, directed and prepared dishonest and incomplete reports, covering up SCB's violations. This led to the failure to promptly prevent Truong My Lan and her accomplices from illegally withdrawing and using SCB's money, causing extremely large losses to the bank.
At court, defendant Nhan stated that the reason for receiving 5.2 million USD was to protect his family... However, the panel of judges found this statement "unfounded". Because the process of receiving the money by the defendant took place over a long period of time. If he did not want to receive it, he could not have accepted the money. Moreover, the defendant also gave Vo Tan Hoang Van the house password to bring the money into the house for the defendant.
From the above analysis, the panel of judges determined that Truong My Lan committed the crime of giving bribes, and Do Thi Nhan committed the crime of receiving bribes.
Regarding the amount of 5.2 million USD that defendant Nhan received as bribe and the amounts that 16 defendants in the inspection team received, according to the panel of judges, they must be recovered and returned to SCB to partially remedy the consequences of the case.
The former Director of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Department II was proposed by the Procuracy to be sentenced to life in prison for accepting a bribe of 5.2 million USD.
ADOLESCENT
The panel of judges determined that defendant Nhan received an exceptionally large amount of money, which is the most dangerous corruption crime, affecting the Party and State's policies. "At the trial, defendant Nhan was not honest and admitted to committing the crime, so the most severe sentence is needed. However, considering that the defendant has returned all the bribe money, the sentence should be reduced," the presiding judge read the verdict.
Among the 16 defendants in the group of crimes of abusing position and power while performing official duties, the People's Court assessed that defendant Nguyen Van Hung (former Deputy Chief Inspector in charge of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Agency, State Bank) was the person who made the inspection decision.
According to the court, the defendant was the one who directed and supervised the inspection activities of the inspection team at SCB, received reports and reported to the leaders of the State Bank and the Prime Minister on the inspection results. "Defendant Hung was also the one who received the largest amount of money, so he should have the highest sentence compared to other defendants in this group of crimes," according to the verdict.
See the basic content of the first instance verdict that the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City announced in the case of Truong My Lan - Van Thinh Phat here.
Defendant at the trial on the morning of April 11
NHAT THINH
Lawyers participated in defending the defendant at the trial this morning
NHAT THINH
Lawyers participated in defending the defendant at the trial this morning
NHAT THINH
Ho Chi Minh City People's Court headquarters on the morning of April 11
NHAT THINH
During the trial, the representative of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy (Procuracy) holding the right to prosecute at the trial assessed that the defendant Lan took advantage of the state's policy on restructuring the banking system, seeking to take over, control, and manage all activities of SCB.
The defendant gradually held and controlled up to 91.5% of SCB shares, was the person who actually had the absolute power to direct and operate all activities of SCB; selected and arranged key personnel at SCB.
From there, Truong My Lan used SCB as a financial tool, mobilizing capital from organizations and individuals, then used many sophisticated tricks to create fake loan documents, inflate the value of collateral; provided illegal collateral, did not register the secured transaction, withdrew assets of great value and exchanged them for assets of lower value to withdraw money from SCB.
When SCB disbursed money under a fake plan, defendant Lan directed his subordinates to create a plan to withdraw money, cutting off the cash flow by creating a fake contract promising to transfer shares, avoiding detection by authorities.
The prosecutor proposed the death penalty for defendant Truong My Lan.
ADOLESCENT
In the 10 years from 2012 to 2022, SCB disbursed more than 2,500 loans to the defendant Truong My Lan's group 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 677,000 billion VND (nearly 484,000 billion VND in principal, more than 193,000 billion VND in interest), in the group of uncollectible loans.
The prosecutor proposed the death penalty for defendant Truong My Lan.
According to the trial proceedings from March 5 to April 4, except for defendant Lan, the remaining defendants present in court all admitted to their crimes.
Specifically, 66 defendants working at SCB - Van Thinh Phat ecosystem, collateral valuation company, other enterprises, and accomplices assisting defendant Truong My Lan all admitted to the crimes according to the indictment, requested to be considered for limited roles, working for a salary, absolutely trusting Truong My Lan and not benefiting from the case to receive a lenient sentence.
18 defendants from the inspection team, the State Bank's supervisory team at SCB and the leaders of the State Bank's Banking Inspection and Supervision Agency received money from SCB during this bank inspection period to cover up violations and conceal the particularly weak financial situation. In court, they all admitted their wrongdoings.
Defendant Truong My Lan presented many explanations explaining that she did not manipulate SCB, did not appropriate SCB money, but used assets of her family, relatives, and friends to restructure SCB but failed.
The case has 5 defendants tried in absentia due to being wanted, and the defendant's request to be tried in absentia due to illness was accepted by the panel of judges.
Accomplices in the case of Truong My Lan causing damage to SCB
ADOLESCENT
In the indictment, the Procuracy proposed the death penalty for defendant Lan for embezzlement, 20 years in prison for bribery, and 19-20 years in prison for violating lending regulations in the operations of credit institutions. Total sentence of death penalty.
Proposed life sentences for 4 defendants, including 3 defendants who are former senior leaders at SCB, including: defendant Dinh Van Thanh, Chairman of the Board of Directors (wanted, tried in absentia); defendant Bui Anh Dung, Chairman of the Board of Directors; defendant Vo Tan Hoang Van, General Director; and defendant Do Thi Nhan (former Director of the Banking Inspection and Supervision Department II) who received a bribe of 5.2 million USD.
The remaining defendants, the Procuracy proposed from 3 years suspended sentence to 24 years in prison, of which 15 defendants were proposed suspended sentence.
How much is the damage in this case?
The People's Procuracy of Ho Chi Minh City determined that Truong My Lan caused the damage and used all the misappropriated money, so in terms of civil liability, it requested that defendant Truong My Lan compensate SCB in full for more than 677,000 billion VND.
However, to ensure the principle of favoring the defendants, the prosecution agency has deducted the value of Ms. Lan's collateral assets that SCB is holding. According to the valuation results of Hoang Quan Valuation Company, SCB's damage is about 498,000 billion VND.
According to the Procuracy, SCB's damage is more than 677,000 billion VND or about 498,000 billion VND will be decided by the People's Court.
Meanwhile, SCB requested the panel of judges to determine the bank's damage as of the first instance trial date (March 5, 2024) to be VND761,802 billion, of which the principal debt was nearly VND484,000 billion, and the interest and provisional fees were more than VND277,800 billion. At the same time, SCB requested that defendant Truong My Lan and her accomplices be jointly responsible for compensating all damages.
Defendant Nguyen Cao Tri compensated an additional 10.5 billion VND
Of the 86 defendants brought to trial, defendant Nguyen Cao Tri (54 years old, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Van Lang Company and Capella Company) is the only one who is not an accomplice of defendant Truong My Lan in appropriating SCB money and is not related to the violations at Van Thinh Phat Group, or SCB.
Defendant Nguyen Cao Tri
ADOLESCENT
Defendant Nguyen Cao Tri was accused of trying to appropriate 1,000 billion VND from Truong My Lan, after defendant Lan was arrested.
At court, defendant Tri admitted to his crime. During the investigation, prosecution, and trial, defendant Tri mobilized his family to compensate Ms. Truong My Lan with more than 761 billion VND; along with having 3 assets seized to ensure full compensation for Ms. Lan's damages. From there, the Procuracy proposed Nguyen Cao Tri 9-10 years in prison.
While the jury was deliberating, defendant Tri's wife also recovered an additional 10.5 billion VND in cash.
Also during the deliberation, Truong My Lan's accomplices also paid additional amounts, including: defendant Duong Tan Truoc paid an additional 5 billion VND, defendant Truong Khanh Hoang paid 500 million VND, defendant Nguyen Thanh Tung paid 200 million VND, and Nguyen Van Thanh Hai paid 50 million VND.
Thanhnien.vn
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/toa-tuyen-tu-hinh-truong-my-lan-boi-thuong-hon-673800-ti-dong-cho-scb-185240410192642061.htm
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