On March 19, the representative of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy, with prosecutorial and supervisory authority, expressed their stance on resolving the case during the trial.
The People's Procuracy representative suggested that the panel of judges issue strict verdicts for defendants who masterminded the scheme and those who fled while demonstrating leniency towards those with lesser roles who actively cooperate with the judicial process and take proactive measures to mitigate the consequences of the case.
According to the People's Procuracy representative, Truong My Lan exploited the State's banking system restructuring policies to seize control of SCB. Consequently, she directed all of SCB's activities, transforming it into a financial instrument to attract funds from organizations and individuals, and subsequently withdrawing these funds for personal use.
In the indictment, Truong My Lan is charged with acquiring three private banks to merge into SCB. Although she does not directly wield operational authority, Lan possesses up to 91.5 percent of SCB's shares, granting her significant influence to dictate and oversee its operations, effectively manipulating the entirety of SCB's activities to serve her own interests. To obtain funds from SCB, Lan and her associates executed a series of criminal behaviors.
These included strategically placing trusted personnel in key positions within SCB, establishing specialized units within SCB for lending and disbursing funds at Lan's direction, creating and utilizing numerous shell companies, hiring numerous individuals, and colluding with individuals in leadership positions in various related enterprises to execute criminal activities.
Furthermore, she colluded with multiple appraisal companies to inflate the value of collateral assets, fabricated fraudulent loan applications to withdraw funds from SCB, devised schemes to withdraw funds and cut off cash flow post-disbursement, and sold bad debts and slow-paying credit facilities to reduce credit balances and conceal malpractice. She also engaged in bribery and exerted influence over individuals with positions and authority within State agencies to act against their official duties.
In an attempt to conceal SCB's misconduct uncovered during inspections, Truong My Lan held meetings and discussions with defendant Do Thi Nhan, former Director of the SBV's Banking Supervision and Inspection Agency II,, head of the SCB inspection team. The defendant also directed Vo Tan Hoang Van, former General Director of SCB, to offer bribes to defendant Nhan multiple times totaling US$5.2 million and members of the inspection team and the Banking Supervision Team of the SBV-Ho Chi Minh City Branch.
The described actions by defendant Truong My Lan violated the State's economic management order in credit lending activities, contravened State regulations, disrupted the proper functioning of organizational agencies, weakened their operations, and eroded public trust. Truong My Lan's criminal conduct resulted in damages to SCB totaling over VND498 trillion.
The People's Procuracy representative stressed that despite mitigating factors such as receiving medals and commendations from various organizations, defendant Truong My Lan committed organized crimes over an extended period, involving multiple offenses and sophisticated methods, resulting in particularly serious consequences.
During the investigation and court proceedings, Truong My Lan showed no remorse, provided evasive statements, and shifted blame onto subordinates. Hence, a severe punishment of societal exclusion is warranted.
The People's Procuracy representative also recommended a stringent penalty of lifelong societal exclusion for the defendants: Dinh Van Thanh (former Chairman of SCB’s Board of Directors, currently on the run), Bui Anh Dung (former Chairman of SCB’s Board of Directors), and Vo Tan Hoang Van (former General Director of SCB). They committed organized crimes, had multiple offenses, employed sophisticated methods, and caused exceptionally severe consequences.
The People's Procuracy representative is currently outlining the charges against each defendant in the case.
