Tycoon Sau Phan is about to appear in court.

Ho Chi Minh City People's Court is scheduled to open a trial on May 8 for Ms. Hua Thi Phan (71 years old, former Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors of TrustBank) and 27 other defendants.accusedabout the crimesAbuse of trust to appropriate property, Intentionally violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.

During this phase of the case, Ms. Phan and her accomplices were accused of causing damage of more than 6,340 billion VND.

PThe court will last until May 31, due toJudge Pham Luong Toan (Chief of the Criminal Court of Ho Chi Minh City People's Court) presided over the trial. The court has issued certificates of participation in the trial to 25 defense lawyers, protecting the rights of the defendants and people with related rights and obligations.

Ms. Phan has four defense lawyers, including lawyer Truong Thi Minh Tho - former judge of the Supreme People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition, the panel of judges also summoned nearly 180 people, units with related rights and obligations, and witnesses. Among them, Mr. Pham Cong Danh represented all shareholders of Thien Thanh group (the buyer of Dai Tin) and more than a dozen banks related to the money transfer transactions of Ms. Phan and her accomplices.

Roundabout transfer of real estate, appropriating more than 1,100 billion

In 2007, Ms. Hua Thi Phan represented the Phu My group (including Phu My Investment and Development Company and 14 family members) to buy nearly 85% of the bank's shares, equivalent to more than 2,500 billion VND, and held the position of senior advisor to the Board of Directors. The legal representatives were Mr. Hoang Van Toan (Chairman of the Board of Directors), Mr. Tran Son Nam (General Director), but they were only nominal managers and operators.

The Supreme People's Procuracy's indictment determined that, taking advantage of her position as a major shareholder with controlling power, Ms. Phan managed all activities of the bank, monopolizing the entire Board of Directors, Executive Board, officers and employees of the two branches in Saigon and Lam Giang.

Ms. Phan, through companies she established and her subordinates with relatives, bought 26 real estate properties and then bought and sold them within the group, inflating the value many times higher than the market price. She then directed the Credit Council and the Executive Board to buy them back at a total value of more than VND3,580 billion (higher than the charter capital) to embezzle and appropriate.

The investigation agency determined that for the house at 5 Pham Ngoc Thach sold to Dai Tin, Ms. Phan and her accomplices had appropriated more than 1,105 billion VND. In 2008, Ms. Phan bought the house for more than 21,700 taels of gold (about 370 billion VND), and sold it to Lam Giang Real Estate Company Limited (founded by her and her son-in-law Lam Kim Dung was the owner) for 426 billion VND. This company then mortgaged it to Dai Tin to borrow money to invest in another real estate company of Ms. Phan.

Following Ms. Phan’s instructions, in August 2011, General Director Tran Son Nam submitted a report to the Board of Directors on the purchase of the house for VND 1,268 billion. On the same day, the Board of Directors, including Chairman Toan, Ms. Phan and members including General Director Nam, Deputy Director Ngo Kim Hue (Ms. Phan’s niece)… approved and transferred the money to buy the house to Lam Giang Company.

After a roundabout transfer, in February 2012, Dai Tin Bank, represented by General Director Nam, re-signed a contract to buy the house with Ms. Phan personally for 1,260 billion VND. The entire amount was transferred to Ms. Phan's account for withdrawal.

Tycoon Sau Phan was accused of pushing debt onto partners.

Ms. Phan is also accused of directing Dai Tin officers and employees at the Saigon and Lam Giang branches, through Bui Thi Kim Loan (accountant of Phu My Company, assistant), to create documents to help her collect more than VND 5,256 billion from the bank. After that, she asked Dai Tin officers to create fake payment documents to push the debt to Phuong Trang Company.

From May 2010 to February 2012, Dai Tin disbursed a total of 83 loans and one bond issuance to Phuong Trang Investment Joint Stock Company, 18 companies and 22 individuals with cooperative relationships, with a book value of nearly VND16,500 billion. In reality, Phuong Trang Company only disbursed more than VND3,900 billion.

According to the accusation, Ms. Phan took advantage of the fact that this enterprise had many real estate properties in many provinces and was in need of capital to expand its business activities, and directed Dai Tin's people to force Phuong Trang to pre-sign loan documents, disbursement documents and cash receipt documents, approve loans and disburse without notifying Phuong Trang. Sometimes Dai Tin did not disburse, or transferred insufficient money to Phuong Trang.

The investigation agency said that Ms. Phan directed bank staff to create fake collection documents, make fake accounting on the SmartBank system, then push the fake debt balance to Phuong Trang to offset the amount of money that had been embezzled.

Be the keeperWho is the mastermind, Mrs. Phan?Loan signed 11 fake receipts of 416 billion VND to falsely settle 3 loans. Loan's assistant signed 28 payment slips and 10 fake receipts to falsely settle 7 loans of 402 billion VND that Loan had previously borrowed for Ms. Phan.

In addition, through 29 loans of Phu My group, Ms. Phan appropriated and used 3,580 billion VND; directed Dai Tin Bank to illegally invest in four real estate projects, appropriated and used more than 1,037 billion; inflated the prices of 25 other real estates sold to Dai Tin Bank, to appropriate 1,024 billion VND. These violations were separated into many cases to continue to complete the investigation in the next phase.

Hai Duyen