Van Thinh Phat chairwoman ordered overseas money transfers: former SCB acting CEO

Truong Khanh Hoang, 38, who was acting CEO of the lender from May 2021 to August 2022 and, prior to that, deputy CEO since September 2019, told the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Monday that Lan had ordered him to transfer the amounts to pay for acquiring shares in foreign companies and settle debts.

"I was not involved in the meetings held to discuss the transfers; I was only directed to make them."

Hoang had told the police earlier that Lan made large remittances and informed the Department of Anti-Money Laundering because of the size of the transfers.

Lan told the court in response that to deal with SCB’s debts she had to borrow from friends and companies overseas sums ranging between $5 million and $30 million at 1-2% interest.

So she made the transfers to repay those debts and not to invest anywhere, she said. She claimed she even had to mortgage a house her husband had bought in Hong Kong to borrow from banks there.

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

All her assets are in Vietnam, all overseas money transfers were made through SCB and the Department of Anti-Money Laundering was informed about all of them, she claimed.

Hoang is being tried for embezzlement for allegedly helping Lan appropriate VND285 trillion from SCB under the guise of loans.

Prosecutors have said he participated in many high-level meetings with other executives to approve her loans.

At the two-month-long trial Lan, 68, is being tried for bribery, violating banking regulations and embezzlement.

Between 2012 and 2022 SCB gave Lan over 2,500 loans worth over VND1 quadrillion ($44 billion), equivalent to 93% of its entire credit portfolio.

She is charged with misappropriating VND304 trillion ($12.31 billion) from SCB and causing it losses of VND498 trillion.

The trial began on March 5 and is scheduled to go on until April 29.

She is also accused of fraudulent appropriation of assets and money laundering, but will be tried separately for those crimes.