HANOI (Reuters) – The mastermind of Vietnam’s largest-ever financial fraud, Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Chairwoman Truong My Lan, was sentenced to death on Thursday after a month-long trial.
Lan and dozens of other defendants were found guilty of involvement in a real estate scam that siphoned off more than $12 billion from large private lender Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) through loans to shell companies.
The total value of the assets linked to real estate group Van Thinh Phat (VTP) and its affiliates is estimated at between $12 billion and $48 billion, according to investigators and an estimate from market appraisal firm Hoang Quan.
VTP did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. A representative for Lan’s family said the value of the assets was about $30 billion.
The range is wide because most assets are unfinished and their ownership is often unclear as they may have been used as collateral for loans and bonds.
However, some are top properties at prime locations, including in and nearby Dong Khoi Street in Ho Chi Minh City, which U.S. firm Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE:) ranked last year as the world’s 13th most expensive retail main street.
Some foreign investors, in letters written to the court, have expressed interest in the mostly high-end properties.
These are some of the top assets linked to Van Thinh Phat, its affiliates and Lan’s family:
TIMES SQUARE SAIGON
Times Square Saigon is one of the tallest buildings in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s commercial capital. The office and hotel complex straddles Dong Khoi and Nguyen Hue streets. The area is known as “golden land” for its high prices and connects the city’s town hall to the Saigon River.
The 39-floor building, seen as a symbol of prosperity and modernity of Vietnam’s most populous city, features one of the first six-star hotels, the Reverie Saigon.
The building was used as collateral for 73 loans worth nearly 30 trillion dong ($1.2 billion) from SCB, according to state media.
SHERWOOD RESIDENCE
Sherwood Residence is a five-star hotel and serviced apartment complex located at 127 Pasteur Street in District 3 in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.
The 22-floor building features 228 serviced apartments and 12 penthouses and is among the first serviced apartment complexes in the city to be awarded a five-star label by the tourism authorities.
Sherwood Residence had been Lan’s residence until her arrest in October 2022.
WINDSOR PLAZA HOTEL
Five-star Windsor Plaza Hotel, is situated at 18 An Duong Vuong Street in District 5, known as Ho Chi Minh City’s Chinatown due to its high concentration of Vietnamese businesspeople of Chinese descent.
The hotel features 376 rooms and suites, along with restaurants, bars, conference rooms, a ballroom and a fitness centre with a swimming pool.
CAPITAL PLACE
Capital Place is a grade-A office building in Hanoi’s downtown Ba Dinh District. It consists of two 37-floor towers with total office space of 100,000 square metres (1.08 million square feet).
State media last month reported that Lan wanted to sell Capital Place and an unnamed investor had offered to buy it for $360 million, but the sale plan was being opposed by her creditors.
Capital Place has been used as collateral for loans worth $230 million from four foreign banks, online newspaper VnExpress reported.
IFC ONE SAIGON
IFC One Saigon is the shell of a planned 41-story building in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 1. The building, on the bank of Saigon River, features office space, apartments and a commercial centre.
A Van Thinh Phat affiliate bought the unfinished building in 2021. Construction work has been suspended since Lan’s arrest.
