On the morning of September 13, when giving explanations at the meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee, Director of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri said that corruption and economic crimes are very complicated and unprecedented.
He gave an example of the Van Thinh Phat case, related to banking, securities, including bond issuance… which greatly affected national resources. But due to many obstacles, it has not yet been brought to trial.
On October 7, 2022, the Ministry of Public Security issued a decision to probe the case of “Fraudulent appropriation of property” which occurred at An Dong Investment Group Joint Stock Company. At the same time, the police temporarily detained four defendants, including Ms. Truong My Lan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat Group Joint Stock Company and members of the Board of Directors of SCB Bank.
According to initial investigation results, the defendants fraudulently issued and sold bonds to appropriate thousands of billions of dong from the people in the 2018-2019 period. Of these, only Security Company Dong appropriated about VND25 trillion (equivalent to about $1 billion).
At the regular Government press conference held on the afternoon of October 29, 2022, when asked about the initial investigation results, General Ton Xo admitted that the case occurred at An Dong Investment Group Joint Stock Company with the defendant Ms. Truong My Lan and her accomplices, it was “a very difficult case for law enforcement forces. During the proceedings, the defendant and a number of related people passed away due to sudden death. This is inevitable.”However, it will make the investigation process more difficult.” And “Party and State leaders also agree that this is a difficult case. It is difficult but it must be done. The more difficult it is, the more determined we are to do it.”
Although he mentioned that “the accused and a number of related people passed away due to sudden death“, General Xo did not explain the circumstances of death, the location, or the identities of these people.
Information from the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security has shown that the Van Thinh Phat case has many shady, unusual, and extremely serious signs.
That was the mysterious death of Mr. Nguyen Tien Thanh, Chairman of Tan Viet Securities Company, member of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat’s SCB Bank. Mr. Thanh is the husband of Ms. Tong Thi Thanh Hoang, Deputy General Director of Van Thinh Phat Group. Mr. Thanh died one day before Ms. Truong My Lan was arrested.
The most mysterious is the death of Ms. Nguyen Phuong Hong, Assistant of Van Thinh Phat Group, member of the Board of Directors of SCB Bank, who was arrested on the same day as Ms. Truong My Lan. Ms. Hong died for unknown reasons while in detention.
The above mentioned incidents are similar to the incident that occurred in January 2014. At that time, during the trial of the Vinalines case, defendant Duong Chi Dung testified that Mr. [Dung] helped Ms. Truong My Lan transfer $1 million to Senior Lieutenant General Pham Quy Ngo, Deputy Minister of Public Security, to ask him helped Van Thinh Phat carry out a project in Khanh Hoi, District 4. After Duong Chi Dung’s testimony, General Pham Quy Ngo mysteriously died.
Mysterious deaths in the past and in the future have shown that there is a very strong force secretly trying to kill and cover up clues. If that’s true, then the Truong My Lan case is not simply an economic case, but also involves top leaders in the Party, operating according to the “mafia” nature of the underworld.
That is why, there are comments that the prosecution and arrest of Ms. Truong My Lan will signal unpredictable developments in the political situation in Vietnam.
Stringing together the events of the case that occurred at An Dong Investment Group Joint Stock Company, and the organized systematic violations of Ms. Truong My Lan and Van Thinh Phat Group, it can be seen that this is a big case. This case involves collusion between top leaders and tycoons with foreign elements to profit from national assets.
Ms. Truong My Lan, 66 years old, is a Vietnamese-Chinese businesswoman, her real name is Truong Muoi. She developed a close relationship with Ms. Truong Thi Hien, wife of Mr. Le Thanh Hai, former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee.
To polish her name and deceive public opinion, Ms. Truong Muoi changed her name to Truong My Lan, to be similar to the name of Ms. Truong My Hoa, former Vice President of the country and the older sister of Le Thanh Hai’s wife.
Thanks to that, Ms. Truong Muoi, also known as Truong My Lan, has built a powerful business “empire” in the fields of real estate investment, named Van Thinh Phat, with a value of many billions of dollars. The strong development process of Van Thinh Phat Group is closely linked to the promotion of Le Thanh Hai. Thanks to the power of Le Thanh Hai and Hai’s backing forces in Ba Dinh, Van Thinh Phat has helped acquire a lot of public assets in prime locations in Saigon.
If based only on information released by the press, the case of Truong My Lan and Van Thinh Phat is simply an economic case. But to solve such a case, there is no need for General Secretary Trong, on September 23, 2022, to personally fly to Saigon with a high-ranking delegation to work with the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, before making a decision to prosecute the case?
General Secretary Trong’s unusual trip, along with the intertwined relationships between Van Thinh Phat and political forces within the Party, have made public opinion suspect that this case will become a “serious political lcase” in 2023. But so far it has not been seen, due to some force blocking it.
The latest announcements from the Director of the Supreme People’s Procuracy Le Minh Tri, related to Van Thinh Phat’s Truong My Lan case, make people think of the obstacles that General Trong face./.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
