The Hochiminh City People's Court will start the trial of 86 defendants, including businesswoman Truong My Lan and her husband Chu Lap Co, from March 5th to April 29th for their alleged roles in causing huge losses of nearly VND 484 trillion (USD 20 billion) to Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB).

According to the indictment, Truong My Lan, 68, was the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group, which has over 1,000 subsidiary companies in Vietnam and abroad. To obtain funding to maintain the operations of her large business empire, she took control of SCB to use it as a financial tool for her group.

Through acquiring shares indirectly in other people's names and installing loyal associates in key positions at SCB, Truong My Lan gained de facto control over the bank despite not being on its management board. She then directed SCB to fraudulently issue loans to her group.

From January 2012 to October 2022, under Truong's instructions, SCB made over 2,257 fake loan applications totaling more than VND 1 quadrillion. As of October 17th, 2022, there were still 1,284 outstanding loan applications worth a total of VND 677.286 trillion that could not be recovered, with a principal amount of VND 483.971 trillion and interest/fees of VND 193.315 trillion. Truong My Lan's debt accounted for 93% of SCB's total loan principal.

Specifically, from January 2012 to December 2017, Truong violated banking regulations and other banking-related activities, causing losses of more than VND 64 trillion to SCB after deducting the value of loan collateral. From January 2018 to October 2022, she was accused of embezzling more than VND 304 trillion in loan principal and over VND 129 trillion in interest generated from the principal at SCB.

Regarding how the violations went on for 10 years without being stopped, prosecutors said it was partly due to complicity from bank inspectors. Truong Doan Nhan, head of the inspecting team from the State Bank of Vietnam, was charged with taking a bribe of US$5.2 million. Ten others were accused of abusing their positions while on duty, and seven faced no criminal charges.

The trial is expected to last nearly two months with 86 defendants, including Truong My Lan and her husband Chu Lap Co. Over 200 lawyers will represent the defendants. SCB and Truong My Lan are both plaintiffs in the case. Truong My Lan is also a victim regarding the alleged embezzlement of VND 1 trillion from her by defendant Nguyen Cao Tri.

This will be one of the biggest banking-related trials in Vietnam, attracting huge public interest as the scale of losses caused is unprecedented. The outcome could have important implications for preventing similar financial crimes in the future. The whole nation will be watching closely as justice seeks to recover such huge amounts of state and public funds caused by the alleged wrongdoings of former business tycoon Truong My Lan and her associates.