Hiếu Mạnh wrote this Vietnamese article, published in Luat Khoa Magazine on March 12, 2025. Jason Nguyen translated it into English for The Vietnamese Magazine.
In October 2022, Vietnam’s banking industry was shaken by an event that sent shockwaves through the country’s financial sector.
Starting from Oct. 6, 2022, clients of the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) rushed to its branches in a frantic attempt to withdraw money. Chaos, disorder, and panic erupted at these locations as many depositors scrambled to secure their funds. At SCB’s Xã Đàn branch in Hà Nội, some people even started queuing at 2:00 a.m.
This panic was triggered by the State Securities Commission’s cancellation of nine bonds, worth 10,000 billion dong, issued by the An Đông Group — a subsidiary of the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group.
The An Đông Group is not a shareholder of SCB, and Vạn Thịnh Phát Chairwoman Trương Mỹ Lan does not hold any formal administrative or executive position in the bank. However, the public widely perceives that SCB and Vạn Thịnh Phát Group are “inseparable,” given the bank’s consistent lending to companies within the group’s ecosystem. As a result, any crisis at Vạn Thịnh Phát also deeply affects SCB.
Fears of the bank’s collapse, herd mentality, and financial anxiety created a perfect storm, driving SCB clients to withdraw their money en masse.
The crowd grew even more enormous on Oct. 8, 2022, when the police arrested Trương Mỹ Lan.
To reassure its clients, the State Bank of Vietnam affirmed that it would ensure liquidity for SCB and put it under “special control.” It also pledged that SCB was still operating normally despite the mobilization of police and security to control the situation at many of its branches.
In response to the brewing situation, the police also handled many civilians who were alleged to spread false information, causing public panic and inciting others to withdraw their money from SCB.
This incident led to investigations and trials involving Trương Mỹ Lan, the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group, and SCB, uncovering revelations that exposed deep-seated secrets within the country’s financial sector.
Once regarded as one of the “chaebols” of Việt Nam, the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group has since gained notoriety for misappropriating SCB assets and leaving behind several unfinished construction and real estate projects.
Who is Trương Mỹ Lan?
Born in 1956, Trương Mỹ Lan—also known as Trương Muội—is a Vietnamese businesswoman of Chinese descent and a prominent real estate tycoon.
In 1991, Lan and her husband, Eric Chu Nap Kee (Chu Lập Cơ in Vietnamese), established Vạn Thịnh Phát Group — a company specializing in real estate investment, restaurants, hotels, and financial services.
Several state-run newspapers have questioned how Lan managed to acquire many high-value real estate properties in a number of Sài Gòn’s more affluent areas, bringing attention to her close relationship with the family of Lê Thanh Hải — then a Politburo member and Secretary of the Hồ Chí Minh City Party Committee.
Between 2005 and 2010, Lê Thanh Hải married Trương Thị Hiền, whose older sister, Trương Mỹ Hoa, is Vietnam’s former vice president. (Trương Mỹ Lan and Trương Mỹ Hoa, however, are not related.)
In 2004, Vạn Thịnh Phát Group constructed the Windsor Plaza Hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels in Hồ Chí Minh City and the venue for the 2006 APEC Summit.
After several years in business, Trương Mỹ Lan was awarded the Huân chương Lao động Hạng 3 (Third Class Labor Medal) by former President Trương Tấn Sang in 2011.
Lan and members of the Trương family applied to renounce their Vietnamese citizenship in mid-2014. However, they withdrew their applications in June 2015.
In May 2016, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the Panama Papers, revealing how thousands of individuals and organizations worldwide use offshore shell companies to evade taxes, launder money, or hide assets. Among those named were Trương Mỹ Lan and Eric Chu Nap Kee, supposed beneficiaries of EurAsia ID Concept Group Limited, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands with ties to Multi-Check Limited.
Prior to her arrest, Lan owned a series of major real estate properties in Hồ Chí Minh City, such as Sherwood Residence, where she resided, the Times Square building, the Union Square building, the Amigo Project, the Mũi Đèn Đỏ Project, and many others.
Lan once testified in court that selling just 10% of her real estate assets could earn her about 500,000 billion dong, approximately 19.6 billion USD. She also stated that if she sold less than 10% of shares and stocks, she could earn between 100,000 and 200,000 billion dong.
On the other hand, the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group has more than 1,000 business ventures, including subsidiaries and member enterprises in Vietnam and abroad.
They typically operate in many areas of business, investments, and stocks. Some of their assets are the Windsor Real Estate Management Group Joint Stock Company, An Dong Investment Group Joint Stock Company, Times Square Vietnam Investment Joint Stock Company, Saigon Peninsula Group Joint Stock Company, and others. According to the indictment, many of their businesses operated as shell companies used to create thousands of fictitious loan applications.
Phase No. 1
The Investigation Process:
Oct. 8, 2022: The Investigation Police Agency (C03), under the Ministry of Public Security, arrested Trương Mỹ Lan for alleged fraud and misappropriation of property.
Jan. 15, 2023: Nguyễn Cao Trí, the General Director of the Sài Gòn-Đại Ninh Company, was detained on charges of “abusing credibility to misappropriate assets.” Trí allegedly directed his staff to destroy evidence related to the 40 million USD that Lan had transferred to him.
March 28, 2023: The police arrested Đỗ Thị Nhàn, the former Director of the Department of Banking Inspection and Supervision of the State Bank of Vietnam, for “abusing position and power while performing official duties.” Nhàn was accused of falsifying reports, leading to the inadequate supervision of SCB.
Oct. 2, 2023: At a Ministry of Public Security press conference, Maj. Gen. Nguyễn Văn Thành said that the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group had defrauded and misappropriated more than 30,000 billion dong from over 42,000 investors.
Nov. 23, 2023: The authorities filed two more cases, bringing the total number of defendants to 108, including 23 leaders of government departments and bureaus, officials from inspection, auditing, and banking supervision agencies, and leaders of local inspection bureaus and banks.
Dec. 15, 2023: Official charges were brought against Trương Mỹ Lan and 85 other defendants at a first-instance trial at the People’s Court of Hồ Chí Minh City by the Supreme People’s Procuracy. 13 people faced the death penalty and Lan was charged with (1) embezzlement of property by using fake loan documents to take money from SCB, (2) bribery, and (3) violation of the regulations on banking activities.
First-instance Trial (March 5 – April 11, 2024)
Attendance:
Ten prosecutors, around 200 lawyers, and 2,700 witnesses attended the hearing. 86 defendants were present, including Trương Mỹ Lan and other senior leaders of the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group and related companies; employees of valuation and auditing firms; 45 former leaders of SCB; 15 former officials of the State Bank; three officials of the Government Inspectorate; a former official of the State Audit; and Nguyễn Cao Trí.
Primary Accusation: “Gutting” SCB
Lan was accused of taking over three banks: the Sài Gòn Commercial Joint Stock Bank, Ficombank, and the Việt Nam Tín Nghĩa Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TinNghiaBank) — which were merged into SCB on Jan. 1, 2012. She controlled 85.61% of shares through 73 representative shareholders. By Jan. 1, 2018, her indirect ownership ratio increased to 91.54%.
Afterwards, she used SCB to raise capital for the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group and its subsidiaries by creating fake loan documents to use assets for personal gain.
Notably, Lan was accused of embezzlement and “violation of lending regulations in the operations of credit institutions.”
According to the People’s Procuracy, Lan’s illegal activities occurred from 2012 to 2022, during which time the Penal Code was being amended.
Specifically, between 2012 and 2017, the 1999 Penal Code was still in effect. At that time, embezzlement was non-applicable to the non-state sector. Instead, she was prosecuted for “violating lending regulations in the activities of credit institutions.” Between 2018 and 2022, the 2015 Penal Code took effect, and embezzlement then applied to the non-state sector.
Developments:
March 5, 2024: The Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court opened the first-instance trial of the first phase of violations that occurred at the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group, SCB and related entities. The Chief Justice of the Criminal Court of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court, Phạm Lương Toản, chaired the trial. Lan had five defense lawyers.
During the proceedings, Lan admitted to privately meeting Đỗ Thị Nhàn, the former Director of the State Bank’s Banking Inspection and Supervision Department II, but did not admit to instructing Võ Tấn Hoàng Văn — the former General Director of SCB — to bribe Nhàn with 5.2 million USD.
March 8, 2024: Đỗ Thị Nhàn admitted to receiving a bribe worth 5.2 million USD from Trương Mỹ Lan. According to the investigation, Nhàn directed her subordinates to give biased and inaccurate inspection results, causing the state a loss of 514,000 billion dong.
March 11, 2024: Lan explained the merger of three joint stock commercial banks into SCB. According to Lan, the State Bank invited her to participate in assisting the merger process, giving her three tasks: (1) have more than 65% of shares to gain enough authority to issue a resolution that would merge the three banks, (2) lend assets to ensure liquidity for the bank, and (3) call for foreign partners to invest.
She initially refused but later joined as an advisor.
Trương Mỹ Lan emphasized that she wanted to help revive SCB, not to monopolize power and control banking activities.
In response, a representative from the State Bank confirmed that all three financial institutions were financially unstable before the merger and required restructuring.
Notably, Lan claimed that the late Trần Minh Tuấn, who served as Deputy Governor of the State Bank from 1998 to 2013, and the late Senior Lieutenant General Phạm Quý Ngọ, Deputy Minister of Public Security from 2010, had urged her to participate in the merger of the three commercial banks.
March 15, 2024: The judicial council scrutinized Lan’s assets.
A representative from SCB disagreed with the accusation that the bank caused the loss of more than 498,000 billion dong. However, he also said that the actual loss as of March 5, 2024, was more than 760,000 billion dong.
Lan countered, claiming that SCB’s calculation was unreasonable and challenging the basis for determining the amount of loss.
March 19, 2024: A representative from the People’s Procuracy proposed the death penalty for Trương Mỹ Lan for embezzlement, bribery, and “violation of lending regulations in the activities of credit institutions.”
Meanwhile, a life sentence was proposed for Đỗ Thị Nhàn.
A prison sentence ranging from a 3-year suspension to 15 years imprisonment was proposed for 16 defendants — all former State Bank officials — for abusing their positions and powers.
Additionally, other defendants faced sentences ranging from 3-year suspensions to 20 years in prison, depending on the severity of their violations.
March 22, 2024: Nearly 200 lawyers represented the 86 defendants in court.
March 28, 2024: SCB representatives requested the judicial council to surrender Lan’s 1,166 assets to SCB, regardless of their legality.
April 1, 2024: The Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Procuracy began responding to the lawyers’ defense and listened to the arguments of the 86 defendants.
April 3, 2024: The defendants were allowed to give their final statements after the court proceedings.
Lan implored the judicial council to reconsider the embezzlement charges against her. She claimed that the money which her businesses borrowed from SCB — roughly 300,000 billion dong — was not directly under her responsibility. She requested that this amount be deducted from the total sum she was accused of embezzling.
Trial Result: Death Penalty and Compensation of More Than 673,800 Billion Dong
April 11, 2024: The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced Trương Mỹ Lan to death for embezzlement, 20 years imprisonment for bribery, and an additional 20 years for “violating lending regulations in the activities of credit institutions.” Since the death penalty is the most severe sentence, it will be the one applied.
Other defendants received sentences ranging from 3-year suspensions to life imprisonment. Lan’s husband was sentenced to nine years, while her niece received a 17-year prison sentence.
Regarding civil liability, from 2012 to 2022, Lan and her accomplices were accused of creating over 2,500 fictitious loans at SCB, with a total disbursement of over one million billion dong, accounting for 93% of the bank’s total outstanding debt.
As of the time the case was officially prosecuted in October 2022, Trương Mỹ Lan’s group and the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group still had 1,284 outstanding loans, with a total debt—both principal and interest—amounting to 677 trillion dong.
By the time of Phase No. 1’s first-instance trial, after some of the loans had been settled, the amount Trương Mỹ Lan was held responsible for compensating remained over 673.8 trillion dong, corresponding to the outstanding balance of 1,243 loans.
According to Judge Phạm Lương Toản, in terms of civil liability, Lan must compensate SCB for the total damage caused, which totals more than 673.8 trillion dong, including principal and interest.
Appellate Trial Phase No. 1
May 4, 2024: More than 20 appeals were filed at the High People’s Court in Hồ Chí Minh City against the first-instance judgment of the trial.
In a six-page handwritten appeal, Lan said that her death sentence was “too heavy and too harsh.”
May 8, 2024: The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court announced the first-instance judgment of Truong My Lan and her accomplices on the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court Electronic Information Portal and the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court Electronic Information Page.
Main Developments of the Appeals:
Nov. 4, 2024: The High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City heard the appeals of Trương Mỹ Lan and her accomplices.
Nov. 7, 2024: During questioning, Lan asked SCB to return the 5,000 billion dong she had invested to increase the bank’s charter capital. She argued that since the State Bank had not issued a capital increase certificate for this investment, she was entitled to reclaim the funds to pay her outstanding debt.
A SCB representative said that the bank had completed the procedures to increase the charter capital but had yet to issue the certificate. Nevertheless, the amount requested by Lam had been absorbed into the bank’s general cash flow. As a result, the SCB did not agree to pay Lan.
At the same time, Lan said that Hoàng Quân Appraisal Company set a valuation of 295,000 billion dong for 1,121 assets worth only 60% of their actual value.
Nov. 10, 2024: Lan said that after the first-instance trial, her family had paid 500 billion dong to help with the outstanding debt. At the same time, during the first-instance trial, her family paid an additional 80 billion dong.
Nov. 12, 2024: Trương Mỹ Lan stated that since the first-instance trial, her family has paid 500 billion dong to help remedy the consequences of her conduct. Additionally, during this first phase of the appellate trial, her family contributed another 80 billion dong.
According to her, 440 collateral assets for loans at SCB Bank—worth at least 100 trillion dong—were deemed worthless because they had not been appraised properly by Hoàng Quân Appraisal Company. Specifically, this appraisal company was only able to appraise 726 out of 1,166 collateral assets tied to 1,284 loans, citing that the remaining assets—such as shares, stocks, property rights, and real estate—lacked sufficient legal documentation.
In addition, before her arrest, someone offered to buy back Vạn Thịnh Phát Group’s “Project 6A” at 40,000 billion dong (Hoàng Quân Appraisal Company only valued this project at 16,000 billion dong). Lan has agreed to use this project to remedy her damages in this case.
Other individuals and legal entities are estimated to still owe Lan 20,000 billion dong.
Lan’s lawyers also said that if the new land price list is applied, the value of Trương Mỹ Lan’s collateral assets will also increase.
Nov. 15, 2024: After more than three days of deliberation, the People’s Procuracy accepted part of Lan’s appeal. Her proposed new sentence would be between 16 and 18 years of imprisonment for “violating lending regulations in the activities of credit institutions.”
However, the court rejected the appeals for her other sentences: bribery and embezzlement.
She will still receive the death penalty.
Nov. 25, 2024: According to the People’s Procuracy, if Lan can pay three-fourths of her assets (around 280,000 billion dong), they will consider reducing her sentence even more.
Dec. 3, 2024: The High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City upheld the death sentence for Trương Mỹ Lan. However, if she can pay the value of three-fourths of her assets, her sentence can be reduced from the death penalty to life imprisonment.
The court rejected Đỗ Thị Nhàn and Bùi Anh Dũng’s appeals and upheld their life sentences. The other 42 defendants had their sentences reduced by one to three years.
Phase No. 2
The Second Investigation Process:
June 5, 2024: The investigation agency proposed prosecuting 34 defendants related to the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group and SCB, including Trương Mỹ Lan.
July 15, 2024: The Supreme People’s Procuracy indicted Lan on three counts, including embezzlement, money laundering, and “illegal cross-border transferring of money.”
The First Instance Trial of Phase No. 2 (September 19, 2024 – October 17, 2024)
Sept. 6, 2024: The Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court issued a notice of absentia for the victims, 35,824 investors who purchased bonds issued by Vạn Thịnh Phát Group. The court affirmed that this would not affect these victims’ legitimate rights and interests.
Sept. 19, 2024: The Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court initiated the second phase of the first-instance trial for Lan and 33 others.
Attendance:
Judge Nguyễn Thị Hà, the Deputy Chief Justice of the Criminal Court at the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court, chaired the hearing. Five prosecutors and nearly 100 lawyers were also present, and more than 530 entities and individuals were summoned.
Main Allegations:
Between 2018 and 2020, Trương Mỹ Lan directed four companies under the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group to issue 25 fictitious bond codes, totalling 308 million dongs in bonds. The proceeds were used to legitimize the flow of funds for eight group subsidiaries by repurchasing the bonds from the very companies that issued them. This scheme resulted in the embezzlement of 30.081 trillion dong from 35,824 investors.
In addition, Lan was accused of directing her subordinates to withdraw money from SCB, legalizing more than 445,000 billion dong of withdrawals from the bank. Over 20 companies under Vạn Thịnh Phát Group conducted 78 illegal transactions, transferring $1.5 billion USD abroad and receiving $3 billion USD through 152 illicit transactions.
Lan and her accomplices allegedly transferred over $4.5 billion USD, equivalent to around 1.1% of Vietnam’s 2022 GDP.
Developments:
Sept. 19, 2024: The Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court initiated the first-instance trial of Phase No. 2. Hundreds of people flocked to the courthouse and desired to attend the hearing.
Sept. 23, 2024: Lan said that she would compensate the victims who bought SCB bonds “at all costs.” She added that her total current assets amounted to more than 21,000 billion dong. At the same time, she requested the judicial council to recover more than 17,000 billion dong from several banks and entities. “More than 38,000 billion dong is available to pay the investors,” Lan stated.
Sept. 25, 2024: Lan denied laundering more than 445,000 billion dong.
She stated that she did not use this money for personal reasons but used it to restructure the SCB. She added that 75 billion dong was the only due loan that the former leaders of SCB automatically restructured. “The amount of money transferred abroad is minor compared to the money sent to Vietnam […],” Lan said.
Lan asked the judicial council to reconsider the amount of money she was accused of laundering. According to her, even though it was the source of laundered money, she was held responsible for four counts, including “violations of banking regulations,” embezzlement, money laundering, and “illegal cross-border transferring of money.”
When asked to explain why she had her driver, Bùi Văn Dũng, collect a box of money with around 108,000 billion dong inside, Lan said that for more than three years (January 2018 – October 2022), she had been working on a project with foreign investment. She claimed that the money did not belong to her or the SCB.
Sept. 29, 2024: Lan continued to deny ordering her accomplices to send money abroad. She said she “was only aware of borrowing money from abroad and using personal money to pay off debt,” which she claimed was unrelated to SCB’s assets.
However, Lan accepted full responsibility for the money transfer and asked the judicial council to reduce the sentence for her accomplices. She emphasized that the money transfer was unrelated to companies under the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group.
Oct. 4, 2024: In the indictment, a representative of the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Procuracy recommended these sentences for Trương Mỹ Lan:
- Life sentence for embezzlement
- Between 12 and 13 years of imprisonment for money laundering
- Between 8 and 9 years of imprisonment for the “illegal cross-border transferring of money.
Life imprisonment would be applied in this case because it is the most severe sentence.
In addition, the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Procuracy recommended prison sentences ranging from two to 27 years for the other 33 defendants.
Oct. 11, 2024: The defendants were allowed to give their final statements before the trial concluded.
Lan was seen shedding tears. She admitted that she had made mistakes and had to pay a heavy price for affecting hundreds of families and tens of thousands of people.
She added that everyone makes mistakes and has to deal with the consequences, but the price she had to pay was way too high.
She implores the court to consider her contributions to society and her efforts to make amends. At the same time, she asks for a lighter sentence for her husband, sister-in-law, niece, and all of her accomplices.
Trương Mỹ Lan emphasized that she is not a bad person and that her heart is “bleeding every second, every minute.” She also apologized to the victims and expressed remorse over the damage she had caused.
Life Imprisonment Sentences and Compensation of 30,081 Billion Dong For 35,824 Victims
Oct. 17, 2024: The Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court sentenced Trương Mỹ Lan to life imprisonment for embezzlement, 12 years in prison for money laundering, and eight years for “illegal cross-border transferring of money.”
At the same time, Lan was ordered to compensate 35,824 victims with more than 30,081 billion dong.
Oct. 24, 2024: The verdict was published on the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court Electronic Information Portal. The 35,824 victims and involved individuals absent from the first-instance trial will have 15 days to appeal.
Dec. 12, 2024: Trương Mỹ Lan appealed against the first-instance verdict announced in Phase No. 2.
Dec. 12, 2024: According to the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court, 29 defendants appealed the first-instance verdict. Lan appealed the entire court ruling, while the remaining 28 defendants appealed for a reduced or suspended sentence.
Appeal Trial Phase No. 2:
March 5, 2025: The High People’s Court in Hồ Chí Minh City held an appeal trial for Trương Mỹ Lan and 28 other defendants due to their allegations of embezzlement, money laundering, and “illegal cross-border transferring of money.”
The trial will begin on March 25, 2025, and is expected to conclude on April 21, 2025.
March 12, 2025: The Hồ Chí Minh City Civil Judgment Enforcement Department has received more than 34,000 information requests from bondholders who were victims of Trương Mỹ Lan and the SCB fraud.
The Enforcement Department aims to construct a database of victim information before the appeal trial starts to ensure the timely execution of sentences and payment to bondholders.
According to the trial verdict of Phase 2, 43,125 bondholders are expected to be compensated.
Other Notable Figures
Eric Chu Nap Kee (Chu Lập Cơ)
Born in 1956, Eric Chu Nap Kee is a Hong Kong-based businessman and Trương Mỹ Lan’s husband.
He is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and owns more than 99% of the Times Square Investment Joint Stock Company shares.
On Feb. 22, 2023, a few months after his wife was arrested, he sold many real estate properties in Hong Kong at extremely low prices.
On April 11, 2024, during Phase No. 1 of the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group trial, Kee was sentenced to nine years for “violating lending regulations in the operations of credit institutions.”
He was accused of helping Lan create fake documents for 73 loans, causing SCB to lose over 9,000 billion dong.
During Phase No. 2 of the trial, Kee was sentenced to two years imprisonment for money laundering.
Trương Huệ Vân
Born in 1988, Trương Huệ Vân is a Vietnamese of Chinese descent, a fourth-generation member of the Trương family, and the niece of Trương Mỹ Lan.
Before her arrest, she was the General Director of the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group since 2020 and had managed and operated many companies.
Since 2020, Vân has opened 52 shell companies and four genuine firms, creating 155 fictitious loans to withdraw 1,088 billion dong from SCB.
In the first-instance trial of Phase No. 1, the People’s Court of Hồ Chí Minh City sentenced Trương Huệ Vân to 17 years for embezzlement of property. Her sentence was reduced to 13 years in prison at the appeals hearing.
During Phase No. 2 of the trial, Vân was accused of signing fictitious contracts and documents for the WMC Company to transfer 13,000 billion dong to the An Đông Company, helping Lan and her accomplices issue two bond codes ADC-2018.09.1 and ADC-2019.1 of An Đông to 20,623 bondholders.
The People’s Court of Hồ Chí Minh City sentenced Truong Hue Van to five years.
Đỗ Thị Nhàn
57-year old Đỗ Thị Nhàn has a master’s degree in law and was the former Director of the Department of Banking Inspection and Supervision under the State Bank management. She also headed a team that inspects SCB.
At the first-instance trial of Phase No. 1, Nhan was sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes. The court ordered her to pay an additional fine of 100 million dong and confiscated 5.2 million USD — the amount that she received from Trương Mỹ Lan through Võ Tấn Hoàng Văn.
According to Nhàn, during the entire inspection period until the violation was discovered, she did not receive any benefits from SCB and Trương Mỹ Lan. Even when Văn offered money, she refused to accept it. But after Văn reportedly begged and told her “not to make things difficult” for both sides, she “reluctantly” accepted the bribe.
Nhàn stated that because she was very scared, she had deposited the money in many places and had not used it. She also called Văn many times to return the cash, but her attempts were unsuccessful.
At the appeals hearing, the judicial council rejected her appeal. It upheld her life sentence, even though she had returned 5.2 million USD and paid an additional one billion dong in damages.
The court upheld her sentence because Nhàn’s actions “caused severe consequences.”
Võ Hoàng Tấn Văn
Born in 1971, Võ Hoàng Tấn Văn was the General Director of SCB Bank from 2013 to 2020.
During his leadership, he is said to have actively assisted Lan in creating fictitious loan documents and withdrawing money from SCB.
According to the indictment, from 2013 to 2017, Văn signed documents that were used to issue 290 loans, causing SCB to lose 60,500 billion dong. From 2018 to 2020, he continued to sign issuance documents for 348 loans, helping Lan embezzle an additional 192,000 billion dong and adding 101,000 billion dong losses in interest debt.
On April 11, 2024, the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court sentenced him to life imprisonment for embezzlement of property and 19 years for “violating lending regulations in the operations of credit institutions.”
Bùi Anh Dũng
Born in 1961, Bùi Anh Dũng was elected chairman of SCB’s Board of Directors in 2020.
From 2020 to 2022, Dũng signed documents for 404 loans, causing SCB to lose more than 317,000 billion dong.
On April 11, 2024, Dũng was sentenced to life for embezzlement and 19 years in prison for “violating regulations on banking activities and other activities related to banking activities.” Because of its severity compared to the rest of his sentences, he was sentenced to life in prison.
Nguyễn Cao Trí
Born in 1970, Nguyễn Cao Trí is the Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Capella Group (Capella Holdings). This group owns many famous real estate brands, including Chill Skybar, Riverside Palace, Claris Palace, Capella Park View, and Capella Gallery Hall.
In addition to the culinary and entertainment sectors, Trí is also involved in the education sector as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Văn Lang Education Investment and Management Group Joint Stock Company.
In the real estate sector, he is the general director and legal representative of Sai Gòn-Đại Ninh Tourism Investment Joint Stock Company, and an investor in the Đại Ninh Commercial, Tourism and Ecological Resort Urban Area project in Lâm Đồng, which has a total investment of more than 25,000 billion dong.
In the case, Trí is the only defendant who did not assist Lan in causing damage to SCB.
However, in August 2023, Nguyễn Cao Trí was detained on charges of misappropriating more than 40 million USD from Truong My Lan. According to the investigation, Trí received this money to buy and sell projects and to do business. However, after Lan was arrested, Trí directed his employees to destroy evidence to conceal this amount of money.
On April 11, 2024, at the first-instance trial of Phase No. 1, the Hồ Chí Minh City People’s Court sentenced Trí to eight years.
On Dec. 3, 2024, the judicial council accepted Trí’s appeal, reducing his sentence from eight to six years.
Trí also fell into legal trouble with the Đại Ninh project. On Jan. 16, 2025, he was accused of bribery. According to the indictment, he transferred 200 million dong to Mai Tiến Dũng, a former minister and head of the Government Office, and asked for help removing bureaucratic difficulties for the Đại Ninh Project.