Ms. Truong My Lan was proposed to be sentenced to life in prison.

On the morning of October 4, the trial of Ms. Truong My Lan, 68 years old, and 33 accomplices for violations in phase 2 of the case that occurred at Van Thinh Phat Group moved to the debate stage.

Speaking on the case, the representative of the Procuracy determined that Ms. Truong My Lan and her accomplices committed a series of acts:Fraudulent appropriation of property(VND 30,081 billion through bond issuance);Money laundering(445,747 billion) andIllegal transportation of currency across borders(4.5 billion USD). The prosecution agency affirmed that the prosecution and trial of the defendants were well-founded. In which, Ms. Lan was the main responsible person, the other defendants carried out the acts in an assisting role.

In the crime of fraud, from 2018 to 2020, Ms. Lan and key personnel at SCB Bank, Van Thinh Phat Group and Tan Viet Securities Company (TVSI) met to discuss using 4 companies under the group (An Dong Company, Sunny World, Quang Thuan and Setra) to issue 25 fake bonds without collateral. Using fraudulent tricks, Ms. Lan and her accomplices sold bonds to nearly 36,000 victims, appropriating more than 30,000 billion VND. The defendants used all the money appropriated to pay debts, spend on projects, and illegally transfer abroad.

"The defendants committed fraud and appropriated money from an especially large number of victims. The defendants' actions seriously affected the stock market and the domestic and foreign investment environment; caused confusion and loss of confidence among the people...", the People's Procuracy stated.

In crimeMoney laundering, The People's Procuracy determined that from January 1, 2018 to October 7, 2022, in order to conceal the origin and legalize the amount of more than VND 415,000 billion embezzled from SCB, Ms. Lan directed her subordinates to carry out many tricks to transfer money out of the SCB system; or transfer money to individuals and legal entities to withdraw cash from their accounts. This behavior was aimed at avoiding detection and tracing of the money flow by authorities.

Combined with the amount of money fraudulently appropriated from bondholders (more than 30,000 billion VND), Ms. Lan and her accomplices committed the act ofMoney launderingtotal 445,747 billion VND.

In addition, within 10 years (from October 27, 2012 to October 7, 2022), 21 companies under Van Thinh Phat Group conducted 78 illegal money transfer transactions abroad with a total amount of more than 1.5 billion USD. 21 companies under Van Thinh Phat Group received money transferred from abroad in violation of regulations, with 152 transactions (totaling more than 3 billion USD). Thus, Ms. Lan and her accomplices haveIllegal transportation of currency across bordersover 4.5 billion USD - equivalent to 106,730 billion VND.

According to the People's Procuracy, the indictment against Ms. Truong My Lan and her accomplices is correct in terms of the person and the crime, and there is no injustice. The defendants' actions are especially dangerous to society, occurring over a long period of time. In particular, Ms. Lan's actions were the premise for other defendants to commit crimes; committed in a sophisticated manner; many times...

In addition, the People's Procuracy also noted and applied many mitigating circumstances to Ms. Lan such as: honest confession, many achievements in preventing the Covid-19 pandemic, over 60 years old, many contributions to society...

From there, the People's Procuracy proposed that the People's Court sentence Ms. Lan to life in prison for the crime.Fraudulent appropriation of property;12-13 years in prison for the crimeMoney laundering; 8-9 years in prison for the crimeIllegal currency transfer across bordersThe total penalty is life imprisonment.

Regarding civil liability, the People's Procuracy requested the court to force Ms. Lan to be responsible for compensating all damages in the case; continue to seize real estate and assets related to the defendant to remedy the consequences.

In connection with the case, defendant Truong Hue Van was determined to have helped Ms. Lan and her accomplices sign contracts and fake documents to transfer money to An Dong Company to buy primary bonds, appropriating 13,000 billion VND from 20,623 victims. The People's Procuracy proposed that the court sentence Van to 6-7 years in prison.

Ngo Thanh Nha (Mrs. Lan's sister-in-law) signed many fake documents and records to help Ms. Lan and her accomplices issue bonds of An Dong Company, appropriating more than VND 24,969 billion from 30,738 victims. For this act, the defendant was recommended by the Procuracy for 7-8 years in prison.

Mr. Chu Lap Co (Mrs. Lan's husband) was recommended to be sentenced to 2 years to 2 years and 6 months for assisting his wife.Money laundering33 billion dong has criminal origin.

As the person who assisted Ms. Lan in all 3 crimes, Truong Khanh Hoang (former CEO of SCB) was proposed to be sentenced to 24-27 years in prison; Nguyen Phuong Anh (former deputy CEO of Saigon Peninsula Company) to 17-20 years in prison; Trinh Quang Cong (34 years old, CEO of Acumen Management Group Joint Stock Company) to 15-18 years in prison.

In addition, Vo Tan Hoang Van (former general director of SCB) actively assisted Ms. Lan in implementing the sale of bond packages to the people - the People's Procuracy proposed a sentence of 17-19 years in prison.

The trial continued with the defense lawyers.

Previously,interrogation processMs. Lan repeatedly said that she "respected the allegations of the investigation agency", but asked the panel of judges and the People's Procuracy to consider the cause and context of the crime. She accepted full responsibility for the consequences. The other defendants also admitted all the wrongdoings stated in the indictment.

Regarding the plan to remedy the consequences of the case, Ms. Lan requested the court to use many sources of money in both phases one and two - prioritizing remedies for bondholders. Specifically: 21,000 billion VND in cash that organizations and individuals must pay her in phase one (according to the first instance judgment); more than 386 billion VND that she and Van Thinh Phat Group paid in phase two; recovering more than 17,000 billion VND that some banks have benefited from the bond issuance money.

In addition, Ms. Lan agreed to use the 6A project in Trung Son area, Binh Chanh district, worth more than 20,000 billion VND; the Amigo project, District 1 (Nguyen Hue quadrangle area) worth 3 times more than Times Square and a series of assets and shares that are being seized, blocked, and prevented to remedy the consequences.

In the first phase of the major case, Ms. Truong My Lan was determined to have directed her accomplices to disburse a total of more than 2,500 loans to a group of companies in the Van Thinh Phat ecosystem during the 10 years of acquiring SCB. By October 2022, Ms. Lan and Van Thinh Phat's group still had nearly 1,300 loans with an outstanding principal and interest of VND 677,000 billion. However, by the time of the first instance trial, some loans had been paid off, and defendant Lan had also paid an additional amount to remedy the consequences, so she had to pay compensation of more than VND 673,800 billion.

Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced Ms. Lan to 20 years in prison for the crime.Bribery; 20 years in prison for the crimeViolation of regulations on lending in the operations of credit institutionsand death penalty for the crimeEmbezzlement of property. In total, Ms. Lan must serve the death penalty.

Currently, Ms. Lan and the defendants have appealed this verdict, the appellate court has not yet set a trial date.