'I feel guilty for leaving my wife alone': Truong My Lan's Hong Kong tycoon husband

In his final statement at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City where Lan is being tried for masterminding a scheme to siphon off money from Saigon Commercial Bank over 10 years, Eric Chu, said his family is going through a "nightmare."

He wished he had participated more in Lan’s business and stopped her from working on the merger between SCB and two other banks, which could have prevented his family from falling apart.

Lan "took some wrong steps" which caused their family to face severe punishments, he said.

He admitted to signing off twice on documents to approve the use of his Times Square building in HCMC as collateral for 73 loans obtained by Van Thinh Phat and its subsidiaries, causing losses of VND9.12 trillion to SCB.

Prosecutors have recommended a jail term of nine to 10 years for him for "violating banking regulations."

Chu told the court he implicitly trusted his wife and never thought his approvals would result in grave consequences.

He entreated the court not to give her the death sentence and to allow Truong Hue Van, their niece and CEO of Van Thinh Phat, to return to her family soon.

He asked to be reunited with his wife soon so that they could work to pay off SCB’s losses.

Truong Hue Van, niece of Truong My Lan, and Van Thinh Phat CEO, seen at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung

In her statement to the court, Van too had sought clemency for Lan, saying though her aunt was known as a woman without tears, she seemed to have "broken her heart" while making her final statement to the court.

Speaking about herself, Van said she had learned valuable lessons since her arrest 18 months ago, and promised to contribute more to society after serving her sentence.

The prosecution has sought a 17-18-year jail term for her for helping Lan pocket SCB money.

From 2012 to 2022 Lan and her accomplices obtained 2,500 loans worth more than VND1 quadrillion ($44 billion), or 93% of the bank’s total loans during the period.

She is accused of causing losses of VND498 trillion.