Female tycoon, wife of famous actor, 'loans at high interest rates' of over 900 billion VND
Lam Thi Thu Tra, 48 years old, was accused of lending more than 921 billion VND to many people at high interest rates, illegally profiting more than 69 billion VND, forcing borrowers to mortgage their houses and land.
On April 19, Ms. Tra's behavior was stated in the indictment by the People's Procuracy of Phu My town, transferring the case file to the court of the same level for trial on the crime.Usury in civil transactionsaccording to Clause 2, Article 201, Penal Code (penalty range 6 months to 3 years) and crimeMoney launderingaccording to Clause 3, Article 324 (penalty range 10-15 years in prison).
In connection with the case, Dang Thi Tuyet Lan, 56 years old; Lam Vu Viet Anh, 33 years old, were prosecuted as her accomplices.Lam Thi Thu Train crimeUsury in civil transactions.
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| Lam Thi Thu Tra when attending the trial of the People's Court of Ba Ria - Vung Tau province on March 30. Photo:Truong Ha |
Mrs. Tra is the wife of actor Kinh Quoc, known as a wealthy real estate businessman in Vung Tau city.
The indictment determined that from 2018 to 2020, she lent money to many people at interest rates of VND1,000-5,000 per million per day - five times higher than the highest interest rate stipulated in the Civil Code. When borrowers were unable to pay, Tra added interest to the principal, created new contracts, and forced them to mortgage land, houses, and other assets to offset the debt.
Tra hired Lan (8 million VND per month) to transfer money to borrowers, receive principal and interest payments, and calculate and record the details of the payments. Lam Vu Viet Anh helped Tra create spreadsheets, check and monitor borrowers' data, and was given spending money by the female tycoon.
In total, the Vung Tau tycoon lent more than VND921 billion to 8 people. They paid Tra VND793.9 billion in principal and VND86.8 billion in interest; of which Tra illegally profited more than VND69.4 billion.
About behaviorMoney laundering, Ms. Tra lent the woman more than 48.9 billion VND, then asked to transfer 23 billion VND (part of the principal and interest) to the accounts of others to pay off the debt, or to continue lending. The investigation agency determined that this action of Tra was to conceal and legalize the illegal profits from loan sharking.
As a victim in the case, the owner of the gold-plated villa Le Thai Thienborrowed 9.5 billion VND from Ms. Tra, with an interest of 3,000 VND per million per day. He used this money along with other sources, totaling more than 324 billion VND, to lend to 9 people with interest rates from 109% to 146% per year; illegally profiting more than 98 billion VND. At the end of last year, Mr. Thien and his son were prosecuted for the same two crimes as Ms. Tra.