Vietnamese executive on trial for second time in country’s biggest fraud case

Vietnamese businesswoman Truong My Lan, who has already been sentenced to death for masterminding the country’s biggest fraud, went on trial again on Thursday, according to state media.

The chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group was brought to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court at 6:00 a.m. amid tight security, the Phap Luat news site reported.

The 34 defendants face charges of fraud, money laundering and illegal cross-border currency trafficking in the trial, due to last for a month.

The case is being heard by a five-judge panel, with five prosecutors representing the city’s People’s Procuracy.

Prosecutors will argue that Lan asked senior staff at Van Thinh Phat and Saigon Commercial Bank, or SCB, in which she owned a 91.5% stake, to issue 25 fake bonds worth 30.7 trillion Vietnamese dong (US$1.3 billion).

The indictment, seen by Vietnamese media, also says 23 Van Thinh Phat companies transferred $1.5 billion from Vietnam to other countries between 2012 and 2020 and received $3 billion in illegal currency transfers from abroad.

Lan and other defendants are also accused of laundering 445 trillion dong ($18.2 billion), including the equivalent of $17 billion taken illegally from SCB and $1.2 billion fraudulently obtained from bond investors.

Lan’s husband, Hong Kong property tycoon Eric Chu Nap Kee, was also brought to court Thursday to face money laundering charges, while her niece, Truong Hue Van, will be tried for fraud and property appropriation, Vietnamese media said.

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In April, Lan was found guilty of bribery, embezzlement and violating banking regulations for ordering SCB officials to approve more than 2,500 loans to shell companies she controlled, causing the bank to lose the equivalent of $27 billion.

Lan pleaded not guilty to the embezzlement and bribery charges, Nguyen Huy Thiep, one of Lan’s lawyers, told Reuters, but she was sentenced to death. She is appealing the verdict.

The original trial, which began in March, came about as part of then Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s crackdown on corruption in the public and private sectors, dubbed the “blazing furnace” campaign

The accused in Lan’s first trial included 45 SCB executives, 15 State Bank of Vietnam officials, three government inspectors and a former official at the State Audit Office, according to media reports.

A new Communist Party secretary general, To Lam, took over the day before Trong’s death in July, before he was elected to the top job by Vietnam’s parliament the following month. Lam  has said he intends to continue his predecessor’s campaign.

Lam is planning to make his first visit to the United States on Saturday as Vietnam’s leader according to the Reuters news agency, although the details have not been announced.

He is due to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in his capacity as president of Vietnam, a post he has held since May, and also meet U.S. business leaders, Reuters reported.

Edited by Mike Firn.