Truong My Lan’s $632M payment ‘legitimate’, Bitexco Group tells court

A lawyer representing the group on Thursday asked the court to not approve investigators’ recommendation to confiscate the sum.

Investigators found that in 2018 Bitexco agreed to sell a property project called The Spirit of Saigon in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1 to Truong My Lan’s company Van Thinh Phat Group at the price tag of VND22 trillion.

Lan to date has transferred VND15.7 trillion to Bitexco. As the transaction has not been completed, both parties have not signed a final contract to transfer the project, which spans 8,600 square meters in a prime location in Vietnam’s biggest city.

An intersection near Ben Thanh Market in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

After Lan was arrested, the police have confiscated many accounts of Bitexco and its affiliated companies due to suspecting that it was involved in her alleged crimes.

A lawyer representing Bitexco, however, told the court Thursday that the company received the money legally, and it had conducted its own investigation to confirm that the money did not come Saigon Commercial Bank – where Lan has been found guilty for embezzlement – or from her alleged fraudulent bond issuances.

Because of Lan’s arrest during the transfer process, the company has suffered a loss of VND12 trillion in the project, the lawyer added.

The company now seeks the court’s approval to unfreeze its accounts.

Lan is in her second trial this year, in which prosecutors have recommended a life sentence for her due to charges of fraudulent asset appropriation, money laundering, and illegal cross-border money transfers.

In the first trial in April Lan was given the death penalty for embezzling VND677 trillion from Saigon Commercial Bank. She has appealed the verdict.