Vietnamese-American businessman Nguyen Duc An has requested to claim ownership of the disputed assets and pay his ex-wife, model Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy, 30% of their cash value, while Thuy insists on that they are shared equally.
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Model Pham Thi Ngoc Thuy attends a trial over disputed assets between her and her ex-husband, October 16, 2023. Photo by Tien Dung |
The HCMC People’s Court on Monday resumed its hearing on the dispute between An and Thuy over assets worth a total of VND288 billion ($11.7 million).
An asked the court to order Thuy to return the disputed property, so that his two daughters could have “right to the properties”.
He wanted to claim ownership of the assets and pay Thuy 30% of the total value of the assets in cash.
According to An’s legal representative in court, the assets were “purchased with An’s money that had been earned before her marriage to Thuy”, and An asked Thuy to help her “register her assets to his name”, because Vietnamese law states that foreigners cannot own certain properties based in Vietnam.
An also demanded that Thuy pay her an additional VND224 billion, representing the profits she had made over the years from renting out nine of her luxury apartments in HCMC, as well as the money An had sent her and the returns generated by this money over the years. .
According to Thuy’s legal representative in court, Thuy purchased part of the assets in dispute with money she earned from her work. It also contributed its monetary resources and efforts to the development of assets. Thus, the disputed assets belong to both An and Thuy.
Thuy demanded ownership of the goods and would pay half their value in cash.
The jury then decided to adjourn the trial in the hope that it would be heard again on October 26 for “more time to review the evidence” before making its final decision.
An, 61, married Thuy, 43, a model and actress nicknamed “the Marilyn Monroe of Vietnam,” in 2006 after knowing each other for just a week. They divorced in 2008.
An sued Thuy in the HCMC People’s Court in 2010, claiming that Thuy had failed to return 39 Vietnam-based assets – including several real estate properties, automobiles and stocks – that he claims he purchased with “money he had won before the marriage.
