Court orders businesses to return $400M to Van Thinh Phat chairwoman Truong My Lan

By Hai Duyen April 13, 2024 | 03:15 pm PT

Van Thinh Phat chairwoman Truong My Lan seen at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City, April. 11, 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

Property developers with ongoing projects with Truong My Lan’s companies have been told to return VND10 trillion (US$399.6 million) in cash and 1,000 taels (37.5 gm) of gold they were paid and rescind the deals.

This is to ensure that the chairwoman of property developer Van Thinh Phat can fulfill the financial obligations set by the HCMC People’s Court last Thursday.

Lan, 68, was sentenced to death for embezzlement, bribery and violating banking regulations in the VND677 trillion ($27 billion) fraud at Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB). She was ordered to pay SCB compensation of VND673.8 trillion.

The court instructed Quoc Cuong Gia Lai to refund the VND2.88 trillion that Sunny Island, a subsidiary of Van Thinh Phat, had paid for the 90-hectare North Phuoc Kien Residential Area in Nha Be District, HCMC.

The deal was struck in 2017.

The North Phuoc Kien Residential Area in Nha Be District, HCMC. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

The project remains in limbo due to legal disputes and conflicts between the two parties. On refunding the money, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai will get back the land use rights from Sunny Island.

Several other developers and real estate companies who have ongoing collaborations have also been ordered by the court to return the money they received.

From 2012 to 2022 Lan and her accomplices obtained 2,500 loans and caused losses of VND677 trillion ($27 billion) to SCB.

She was identified as the mastermind and committed elaborate and organized crimes, causing irrevocable consequences, the judges said.