Move FM Global News

HANOI, Vietnam: This week, Van Thinh Phat (VTP) Holdings Group Chairwoman Truong My Lan, the mastermind of Vietnam’s largest-ever financial fraud, was sentenced to death after a month-long trial.

Lan and other defendants were found guilty of siphoning off more than $12 billion from large private lender Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) via loans to shell companies as part of a real estate scam.

Investigators and market appraisal firm Hoang Quan estimate the total value of the assets linked to real estate group VTP and its affiliates to be between $12 billion and $48 billion.

A representative for Lan’s family said the value of the assets was about $30 billion.

Most of VTP’s real estate assets are unfinished and as they may have been used as collateral for loans and bonds, their ownership is often unclear.

However, some are top properties at prime locations, including in and nearby Dong Khoi Street in Ho Chi Minh City, ranked in 2023 as the 13th most expensive retail main street by U.S. firm Cushman & Wakefield in 2023.

In letters written to the court, some foreign investors have expressed interest in the mostly high-end properties.

Some of the top assets linked to Van Thinh Phat, its affiliates and Lan’s family include Times Square Saigon, one of the tallest buildings in Vietnam’s commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City; Sherwood Residence, a five-star hotel and serviced apartment complex located at 127 Pasteur Street in District 3 in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City; and the five-star Windsor Plaza Hotel, on 18 An Duong Vuong Street in District 5, known as Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown.