Trương Mỹ Lan, chairwoman of Vạn Thịnh Phát Group, is being tried in HCM City for bribery, violating bank regulations and embezzlement for allegedly misappropriating VNĐ304 trillion from SCB. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Trương Mỹ Lan, chairwoman of real estate firm Vạn Thịnh Phát, has offered to sell off her personal assets to compensate for damages for an alleged massive fraud at Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), considered the largest financial scandal in Southeast Asia.

During an ongoing trial in HCM City, the 68-year-old real estate tycoon said she would use her personal assets, excluding those seized and frozen by the police, to resolve the consequences of the fraud case if found guilty.

However, Lan did not provide specific information about the assets when asked by the judge.

She also mentioned her intention to use VNĐ1 trillion in cash received from property developer chairman Nguyễn Cao Trí to compensate for any damages.

Trí is accused of stealing the money from Lan that was used to buy a 65 per cent stake in his Rubber Corporation, a 100 per cent stake in his tourism company, and investment in an industrial park in Quảng Ninh Province, according to the police.

After being arrested in October 2022, Trí initially claimed he never obtained any money from the chairwoman. Later, he confessed and has already paid her back over VNĐ700 billion.

Lan rejected the prosecution’s accusation that she manipulated the lender’s operations, saying that she only owned a 5 per cent stake in the bank.

She explained that remaining stakes were held by her two daughters (5 per cent each) and friends in Việt Nam (30 per cent) and overseas (30 per cent).

She also said that among the 1,000 companies in the Vạn Thịnh Phát ecosystem, only a few are related companies.

The police have seized millions of US dollars in cash and frozen assets linked to Lan, with the funds intended to be used to compensate for damages at SCB and repay victims.

A Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank branch on Phạm Ngọc Thạch Street in HCM City’s District 3. VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp

Trương Mỹ Lan is currently being tried for bribery, violating bank regulations and embezzlement for allegedly misappropriating VNĐ304 trillion from the lender, and could face the death penalty if found guilty.

Lan’s husband and niece are also among the accused, as well as numerous SCB executives and government officials.

They all face charges of embezzlement, bribery, abuse of power while performing official duties, lack of responsibility causing serious consequences, and violating bank regulations.

The trial is expected to last until the end of April.

The IFC One Saigon building on Tôn Đức Thắng Street in HCM City’s District 1 is on the list of buildings related to Vạn Thịnh Phát Group. VNS Photo Bồ Xuân Hiệp

Vạn Thịnh Phát had a network of 1,000 fake companies set up by the chairwoman in order to “borrow” money from the bank and to acquire shares in it.

In 2011, Lan was proposed by the central bank to merge two other private banks with SCB, the largest private bank by assets in Việt Nam.

Between 2012 and 2022, the lender gave Lan over 2,500 loans worth over VNĐ1 quadrillion, or 93 per cent of its loans. In all, she is accused of causing losses of VNĐ498 trillion to the bank.

To hide the lender’s poor financial problems, Lan bribed various government auditors and inspectors, including the former head of the central bank’s inspection and supervision department, who received $5.2 million in bribes, the largest sum of bribes in Việt Nam’s history.

The value of Lan’s alleged asset appropriation, which occurred between 2012 and 2022, was equivalent to over 10 per cent of Việt Nam’s GDP in 2022.

Experts have said the financial scandal is considered the largest in Southeast Asia and will take years to resolve all the damages caused to the economy, including to the country’s efforts to lure foreign investment.

The chairwoman’s arrest at the end of 2022 came as part of a national corruption crackdown that has swept up many officials and members of the country’s business elite in recent years. — VNS