Recently, the Supreme People's Procuracy has formally charged 34 defendants in the second phase of the case of Truong My Lan and her associates. Among them, Truong My Lan, Chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group, faces charges of "Fraudulent misappropriation of assets," "Money laundering," and "Illegal cross-border transportation of currency."
Regarding the accusation of "Illegal cross-border transportation of currency," the indictment identifies Lan and her three accomplices—Nguyen Phuong Anh (Deputy CEO of Saigon Peninsula Corporation), Trinh Quang Cong (CEO of Acumen Management Corporation), and Truong Khanh Hoang (former CEO of SCB Bank)—for illegally transporting over $4.5 billion across borders.
During the investigation, it was found that the suspect Chiu Bing Keung Kenneth, who holds British and Northern Irish citizenship and served as legal counsel representing Truong My Lan in managing foreign entities within the Van Thinh Phat group, allegedly orchestrated a series of fraudulent contracts between domestic and foreign companies to facilitate the transfer of funds abroad and vice versa.
According to Truong My Lan's statement, whenever funds were needed for overseas transfers to settle debts or receive foreign loans transferred to Vietnam, she instructed her subordinates and Chiu Bing Keung Kenneth to create fictitious contracts for purchasing shares, capital contributions, consultancy services, and loan agreements between Vietnamese companies and foreign entities.
Under the guidance of Truong My Lan, individuals associated with Van Thinh Phat Group collaborated with SCB staff to facilitate international money transfers and receipts. Despite many transfer applications not meeting the required criteria, individuals with authority at SCB, including Vo Tan Hoang Van (former CEO), Truong Khanh Hoang (former Acting CEO), and Bui Anh Dung (former Chairman of the Board of Directors of SCB), approved these transactions through the system to complete international money transfers.
From 2012 to 2022, employing these methods, companies within Van Thinh Phat Group utilized 23 entities (12 domestically registered companies and 11 foreign entities) to transfer funds abroad and receive funds from overseas into Vietnam.
Among the 23 companies mentioned, 21 allegedly conducted 78 transactions totaling $1.5 billion in illegal outbound transfers and received $3 billion through 52 transactions.
According to allegations, Chiu Bing Keung Kenneth assisted Truong My Lan in illegally transporting $1.49 billion across borders. Kenneth's actions constitute the offense of "Illegal cross-border transportation of currency," as stipulated under Article 189, Clause 3 of the 2015 Penal Code.
Currently, Kenneth has left the country, and his whereabouts are unknown. Consequently, the Ministry of Public Security's investigative agency has issued a warrant for his arrest, temporarily suspended the investigation, and will resume proceedings upon his apprehension.
Simultaneously, judicial authorities have requested legal assistance from Hong Kong and the UK to verify Chiu Bing Keung Kenneth and Chen Yi Chung's involvement in the Truong My Lan case. However, these requests have not yet yielded results.
