It includes VND1.35 trillion for Truong Hue Van, her niece and CEO of Van Thinh Phat, she said in her application to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on Thursday.
Van’s lawyer told the court that this request constitutes a major development since, with this money, she could fully compensate for the damage she is accused of causing to SCB.
He argued that any possible reduction in his sentence should be based on that.
Van is accused of setting up 56 companies, including 52 shell companies, to obtain 155 loans from SCB and helping Lan misappropriate VND1.09 trillion from the bank and causing him interest losses of 25 billion VND.
Prosecutors said that even if Van had been truthful in her testimony, she should still be sentenced to 19 to 20 years in prison because of the serious consequences of her crimes.
But her lawyer argued the sentence was too harsh as she only followed Lan’s instructions out of personal trust. She was not fully aware of the implications of her actions, he said.
Van also asked the court to reduce his sentence.
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Times Square Vietnam Chairman Eric Chu is seen at the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Tung |
Lan recently received VND1.65 trillion from two business partners who owed him money.
The remaining 300 billion VND is intended for her husband and Hong Kong real estate tycoon Eric Chu, who allegedly helped her misappropriate SCB money and caused her losses of 9.12 trillion VND.
He had twice allowed Lan to use assets belonging to his Times Square Vietnam company as collateral for a loan from SCB and prosecutors recommended a 10- to 11-year prison sentence for him.
His lawyers argued that the sentence was too harsh since Chu had only signed the documents to help his wife get SCB out of its precarious financial situation.
“It is completely normal for a husband to lend property to his wife. Chu fully trusted his wife and signed these documents.”
His lawyers also said that the Hoang Quan Appraisal Company’s valuation of the Times Square building did not take into account the value of the land and that the low valuation caused Chu a disadvantage.
Before Hoang Quan, another company valued the building at VND45 trillion, enough to cover the VND39 trillion loans based on it as collateral.
The lawyers therefore requested a substantial reduction in Chu’s sentence.
In the current trial, prosecutors recommended the death penalty against Lan for committing serious crimes over a long period of time and causing irrevocable consequences.
From 2012 to 2022, Lan and his co-conspirators obtained 2,500 loans worth more than VND1 quadrillion ($44 billion), accounting for 93% of the bank’s total loans during this period.
She is accused of causing losses of 498,000 billion dong.
