Why prosecution seeks lighter sentence for Truong My Lan’s niece in Van Thinh Phat fraud

Van has acknowledged and shown remorse for her crimes, provided honest information and fully cooperated with investigators, the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam said.

As Van Thinh Phat’s CEO, Van, 36, stood trial along with 84 others at the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

She is accused of causing losses of nearly VND1.1 trillion (US$44.56 million) to Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) by aiding Lan in misappropriating money from it.

Lan had appointed Van in leadership positions at numerous businesses belonging to Van Thinh Phat.

Van told investigators she had become branch director of property developer Times Square in 2014, CEO of property management firm Windsor in 2015 and CEO of Van Thinh Phat in 2019.

Though she bought stakes in SCB, she was only following her aunt’s instructions and sent proxies in her place to the bank’s shareholders’ meetings.

Lan was the actual owner of SCB and everyone else on its board of directors was merely her pawn, she said.

She unquestioningly signed all documents placed before her because of respect for their familial relationship, she claimed.

Whenever Lan needed money from SCB, Van would instruct her subordinates to establish shell companies and fabricate business plans to borrow from it.

Once disbursed, the loan would be withdrawn from several SCB offices to be used at Lan’s discretion.

According to investigators, Van created and used 52 shell companies to obtain 155 loans worth VND1.1 trillion.

Before the fraud was discovered, Van was known as belonging to one of the richest families in HCMC and the wife of singer Thanh Bui.