Van Thinh Phat chairwoman denies she got $4.4B SCB cash delivered to home

The Van Thinh Phat chairwoman has been charged with instructing Bui Van Dung to transport the money between Feb. 26 and Sep. 12, 2022, to the company on Tran Hung Dao Street and Sherwood Building on Pasteur Street where she lived, both in HCMC’s District 1.

She told the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City Monday that while the money was indeed taken to those locations, it was not on her orders.

Sherwood Building is not home but an office, she said.

But former SCB deputy CEO Tran Thi My Dung told the court that every time Dung delivered the money it was on Lan’s instructions.

"When paying for projects Lan would transfer money online, but the cash delivered to the Van Thinh Phat office was for her own expenses, which I did not know about."

The police have yet to find out where the cash eventually ended up.

Data from SCB shows that by the time of Lan’s arrest in October 2022, she and her accomplices had obtained 1,283 loans worth VND483 trillion from the bank.

Of that VND57 trillion was used to pay for earlier loans, VND5.2 trillion was transferred within SCB, VND381 trillion was transferred to other banks, and VND81.8 trillion was withdrawn in cash.

Lan and 60 accomplices are charged with causing losses of VND500 trillion to the bank.

She is also accused of fraud and money laundering, but she will be tried separately for those crimes.