Trần Bữu Nữu, an officer belonging to the Bình Thạnh District police in HCM City, helps a victim make a complaint against Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) where she had bought the bonds. VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp

Bồ Xuân Hiệp

HCM CITY — An 87-year-old man came to the Bình Thạnh District Police in HCM City last Monday morning to report a fraud related to bonds allegedly committed by one of Việt Nam’s largest property developers.

He has been patiently waiting for the return of his money since the arrest of Trương Mỹ Lan, the chairwoman of Vạn Thịnh Phát Group, last October.

He and other bondholders have not received the interest or principal they were supposed to get through their accounts at Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), where most had bought the bonds.

The chairwoman is believed to be a significant shareholder in the bank.

SCB has said all accounts associated with Vạn Thịnh Phát and its associate companies have been frozen by the police, which is why the bondholders have not received their payments.

It said it is only an “intermediary involved in selling the bonds” to investors and “does not guarantee bond repayment.”

Determined not to lose his lifetime savings, the man, who asked not to be identified, accompanied by his son went to the police after hearing they had urged victims of the VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.24 billion) default to step forward.

He said he had lost more than VNĐ54 billion ($2.2 million).

He is just one of over 40,000 victims all over Việt Nam of what was one of the biggest bond fraud cases in the country’s history.

Trần Bữu Nữu, a Bình Thạnh District police officer, said things have been busy in recent times due to the overwhelming number of victims coming to complain.

The Bình Thạnh police receive around 100-200 cases daily now, but last month, even before they exhorted victims to complain, they had received over 1,000 complaints, he said.

“It is important to provide careful guidance and support to the victims, especially elderly people, who may not be familiar with bonds,” he told Việt Nam News.

The police are forwarding the complaints to the Investigation Police Department for Corruption, Smuggling, and Economic Crimes (CO3) in Hà Nội.

Lan, chairwoman of Vạn Thịnh Phát, and several accomplices allegedly deceived numerous people between 2018 and 2020 to misappropriate trillions of đồng.

They made multiple bond issuances totalling at least VNĐ30.08 trillion.

Based on their ongoing investigation, the police said merely that Vạn Thịnh Phát Group's companies “misused the funds obtained from the bond issuances” without providing details.

But they have determined that the holders of the bonds have been defrauded.

A number of organisations, including An Đông Investment Group Joint Stock Company, Quang Thuận Investment Joint Stock Company, HCM City Commercial Services Joint Stock Company, Sunny World Investment and Development Joint Stock Company, are believed to have involvement in Vạn Thịnh Phát Group’s fraudulent activities.

The police are urging people who bought bonds through SCB to come forward with information, documents and related contracts to protect themselves.

“Failure to do so may result in [losses].”

Last October, Lan and several others were arrested for alleged fraud related to the issuance and trading of bonds worth trillions of đồng.

Following Lan’s arrest, depositors rushed to SCB to withdraw their money since they believed she was a significant shareholder of SCB, one of Việt Nam’s largest private banks, leading to the lender being placed under the “special control” of the State Bank of Việt Nam.

Lan is well known as a wealthy Chinese-Vietnamese businesswoman.

Vạn Thịnh Phát Group has interests in commerce, hospitality and real estate, and owns major projects and buildings in prime locations in HCM City.

Other individuals who were arrested include Trương Huệ Vân, CEO of Windsor Property Management, Nguyễn Phương Hồng, an assistant at Vạn Thịnh Phát, and Hồ Bửu Phương, a former chairwoman of Tân Việt Securities and Vạn Thịnh Phát's former deputy financial director.

In a related development, the Investigation Police Department for Corruption, Smuggling, and Economic Crimes (C03) has uncovered another major fraud involving Tân Hoàng Minh Group, which is accused of misappropriating over VNĐ8.6 trillion ($353.84 million) from 6,000 investors.

Major General Nguyễn Văn Thanh, the department’s deputy head, assured victims that the money retrieved from the company would be used as evidence in the case and returned to the rightful owners on court orders.

Victims are encouraged to actively participate in the prosecution and trial to safeguard their rights, he said.

Experts have called for strong measures to protect retail investors from falling victim to fraudulent schemes.

They must exercise caution and do due diligence before engaging in financial transactions, they said.

“I might die before I can get my money back, but I believe in justice and the fairness of the law,” the 87-year-old man told Việt Nam News. — VNS

The construction of a building near Bến Thành Market, believed to be owned by property developer Viva Land, a subsidiary of Vạn Thịnh Phát Group, stopped at the end of last year following the arrest of Trương Mỹ Lan. — VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp