Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group before her arrest. Photo courtesy of the company
Duong Tan Truoc, CEO of an HCMC-based company, received a VND1.5 trillion ($60.85 million) bonus from Truong My Lan for helping the chairwoman of disgraced property developer Van Thinh Phat steal VND4.75 trillion from lender SCB.
Truoc, aged 41, is scheduled for trial in HCMC on March 5 with 85 others, facing embezzlement charges.
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.
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
The operations of Saigon Commercial Bank, which faced days of panicked customers pulling out their savings, are “stable” and some clients are now returning to deposit money, according to Vo Minh Tuan, head of the central bank’s Ho Chi Minh City branch.
“SCB’s situation has become more stable now as the number of people coming in to withdraw money has decreased,” he said by phone. The central bank on Monday issued a statement reaffirming the lender’s ability to pay depositors.
Hundreds of bank customers rushed to branches to pull money out after police over the weekend announced the detention of Truong My Lan, chairwoman of real estate conglomerate Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, and other company officials for allegedly obtaining property through fraudulent means. The conglomerate was believed to have ties to Saigon Commercial Bank, the nation’s fifth-largest commercial bank by deposits and assets.
SCB’s branches in the nation’s commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City were significantly quieter Tuesday morning, with some workers saying operations were returning to normal.
Customers line up in front of a Saigon Commercial Bank branch in Ho Chi Minh City on Oct. 10.Photographer: Mai Ngoc Chau/Bloomberg
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