What can we see from thousands of "ghost" companies in the case of Ms. Truong My Lan?

Ms. Truong My Lan directed her subordinates to establish a "ghost" company to borrow from the bank.

Accordingly, Ms. Truong My Lan assigned the establishment of "ghost" companies to Ms. Dang Phuong Hoai Tam (Head of Office of Van Thinh Phat Group) to coordinate with Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Duong and Nguyen Phuong Anh (General Director and Deputy General Director of Saigon Peninsula Company) to carry out.

After that, Mr. Duong (deceased) and Mr. Phuong Anh directed Bui Duc Khoa, Nguyen Thi Khanh Van and Tran Thi Kim Chi to be the main contacts to find and hire people to establish the company in the roles of: legal representative, shareholder, member of the LLC, find the address of the headquarters, choose the business line... to suit the requirements of Ms. Lan and her accomplices.

The first instance judgment determined that among the 875 borrowers whose names were on 1,284 loans at SCB of Ms. Truong My Lan's group (including 440 individuals and 435 legal entities), Ms. Truong My Lan directed the group of subjects at Van Thinh Phat Group to establish, hire or ask someone to take their name.

Accordingly, for legal entities, most of them are "ghost" legal entities that Ms. Truong My Lan directed Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Duong and Nguyen Phuong Anh to carry out.

The above companies were established without actually doing business, but to avoid inspection and supervision by competent authorities, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Duong and Mr. Phuong Anh assigned their subordinates, who were accountants, to manage, report taxes, answer phone calls at registered numbers, and manage seals as if they were an operating company.

"Incorporating a company has become a means of committing a crime"

In the issued verdict, through the case of Truong My Lan and accomplices and a number of economic cases in the past, the trial panel found that the defendants took advantage of the State's open policies in the registration and issuance of business establishment licenses.

The trial panel believes that many defendants and bad actors established a series of companies and enterprises but did not conduct business but served illegal purposes such as: buying and selling invoices, evading taxes, borrowing money from banks against regulations...

The individuals who are the founders of the business, the individuals who are the capital contributors, and the legal representatives are all employees with limited education levels, and many companies share the same headquarters address.

The Trial Panel found that this made it difficult for authorities to promptly detect and prevent violations, as well as causing difficulties in subsequent investigation and handling.

Therefore, the trial panel recommends that the Government, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and relevant authorities further strengthen state management of business registration and management, and strictly control input and post-inspection to avoid cases where bad actors take advantage of company registration to serve illegal purposes.