HCMC – Truong My Lan, former chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Corporation, had her life sentence reduced to 20 years in the second phase of a case related to massive fraud and money laundering.
The High People’s Court in HCMC delivered its appellate ruling in the second phase of a major financial crime case involving fraud, money laundering, and illegal cross-border money transfers this morning, April 21.
Truong My Lan saw her life sentence for fraud reduced to 20 years, while her 12-year sentence for money laundering and eight-year sentence for illegal cross-border money transfers were upheld.
However, as the death sentence from the first phase of the Van Thinh Phat case has already taken legal effect, Truong My Lan remains subject to capital punishment.
The appellate court affirmed that Lan held a leading role in all three charges, with the other defendants serving as accomplices. Sentences were handed down to the correct individuals and were consistent with the nature of their crimes.
Regarding the fraud charge, Lan, majority shareholder of Van Thinh Phat Group and SCB, approved a bond issuance plan to address SCB’s financial woes. She directed four affiliated companies to issue bonds and five others to falsely purchase them, creating a fictitious cash flow.
The group hired individuals to forge documents and carry out fake transactions to fabricate a cash flow of nearly VND31 trillion. This amount was used to acquire roughly 309 million bonds. Lan and her accomplices then sold 25 batches of these fraudulent bonds to more than 35,800 investors.
On the money laundering charge, from 2018 to 2022, Lan directed subordinates to move over VND415 trillion—embezzled from SCB in the first phase of the case—out of the bank’s system through cash withdrawals and transfers to individuals and entities to conceal its origin and evade detection.
Including funds from the fraudulent bond issuance, the total laundered amount exceeded VND445 trillion. In addition, Lan and her accomplices were found to have illegally transferred more than US$4.5 billion (over VND106 trillion) across borders.
The trial court’s decision to sentence Truong My Lan to life imprisonment for fraud, money laundering, and illegal cross-border money transfers was deemed appropriate.
However, as of March 31, authorities had recovered over VND8.6 trillion. Additionally, individuals and organizations are required to repay more than VND21 trillion to Truong My Lan.
The appellate panel considered the substantial amount recovered and expected to be recovered as a new mitigating factor. Along with Lan’s remorse and her expressed willingness to remedy the consequences, the court found grounds to reduce her life sentence to a fixed-term prison sentence.
