"National GDP 3%"... Vietnam Concludes Investigation into 16 Trillion Won Financial Fraud Case

86 Indicted Including Chairman Ju Dong-ja
6.7 Billion KRW Bribed to Officials

Vietnamese authorities have prosecuted a total of 86 people, including the ringleader and public officials, after conducting a comprehensive investigation into a financial fraud case worth around 16 trillion won.

According to local media VN Express on the 16th, the Vietnamese prosecution indicted Truong My Lan (67), chairman of the real estate development company Ban Tin Pat Holdings, on charges of embezzlement and bribery. Lan's trial will be held at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court.

Authorities revealed that Lan, in collusion with associates, embezzled 304 trillion dong (approximately 16.3 trillion won) from the affiliated bank, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB). The amount embezzled exceeds 3% of Vietnam's GDP (Gross Domestic Product).

Chairwoman Truong My Lan of Van Tin Pot Group, a real estate development company
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Investigators found that Lan was the largest shareholder, effectively owning 91.5% of SCB's shares, and through associates, submitted false loan applications to withdraw money. Lan was arrested by the police in October last year and has been under investigation since.

The prosecution also indicted 85 others involved in the case, including former state-owned bank officials and audit-related public servants. Among them, public officials reportedly received bribes totaling about 5.2 million dollars (approximately 6.7 billion won) in exchange for turning a blind eye to Lan's group's criminal activities. Furthermore, through this investigation, prosecutors discovered multiple loopholes in current financial and loan regulations and are expected to work with financial authorities to amend problematic regulations to prevent similar crimes in the future.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam recently reaffirmed its strong commitment to eradicating corruption.

According to local media on the 23rd of last month, Nguyen Phu Trong, the top-ranking official of Vietnam, Secretary of the Communist Party, stated on that day, "We will prolong the anti-corruption campaign."

Secretary Trong emphasized, "To eradicate corruption, we must respond quickly and more effectively," adding, "We must continue the work without stopping for a long period." These remarks by Secretary Trong came in response to the revelation of Lan's large-scale financial fraud.

Earlier, on November 18 last year, following Secretary Trong's strong declaration of determination to eradicate corruption crimes at the Central Anti-Corruption Steering Committee meeting, Vietnamese authorities have been conducting extensive investigations targeting the public sector.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.