Truong My Lan’s lawyers demand $5B valuation for Saigon Peninsula project

Her lawyers told the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday that the VND17.6 trillion valuation of Saigon Peninsula, a 118-hectare land lot in the city’s District 7, by appraisal company Hoang Quan that prosecutors have used to calculate the compensation Lan has to pay for alleged appropriation of Saigon Commercial Bank’s assets is too low.

Saigon Peninsula, which was planned to be developed into a luxury residential and commercial property, plays a major role in reducing the sentences of Lan and other defendants, her lawyers said.

The losses that Lan allegedly caused are determined by reducing the value of her collateral from her loans, meaning higher their valuation, including of Saigon Peninsula, the lower the losses and possibly lighter sentence for her.

Her lawyers said in June 2020 property consultancy Savills Vietnam valued the land lot and its future assets (revenues) at VND180.8 trillion.

Prosecutors had refused to accept valuations based on future revenues, but the lawyers said the method was legal as long as the project met certain criteria.

They pointed out that Hoang Quan itself had used the same method to appraise the Times Square building owned by Lan’s husband Eric Chu.

Van Thinh Phat chairwoman Truong My Lan seen at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Another company, Thien Phu, had valued Saigon Peninsula at VND151 trillion in August 2020, they said.

Its two appraisers, who were later arrested for falsifying the value, told the court they had inflated its value by 20%, which means the true value should be VND125 trillion, they further pointed out.

A third appraisal company, Vietnam Assessment and Evaluation Assets, fixed a value of VND168 trillion in June 2021, they said, adding it is one of the 19 appraisal companies the Ministry of Finance recommends to the central bank.

This means the valuations made by three independent appraisal companies were all six to nine times higher than that of Hoang Quan, and such undervaluation might "lead to Lan’s death," they warned.

They wondered whether the prosecutors had "too prematurely" accused Lan of being responsible for losses of VND677 trillion for SCB.

At the ongoing trial prosecutors have recommended the death sentence for Lan for committing severe crimes over a long period and causing irrevocable consequences.

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

She is accused of causing losses of VND498 trillion after deducting the value of collateral.