Proposed 19-20 years in prison, former Deputy General Director of Van Thinh Phat cried and said he did not dare to see his child.

On the morning of March 22, the trial of defendant Truong My Lan (68 years old, Chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group) and 85 other defendants continued with the defense.

Defending himself, defendant Ho Buu Phuong, former Deputy General Director (GDC) in charge of Finance of Van Thinh Phat Group, said that all company data was collected and managed by the board of directors' office, and that he himself was not allowed to share it.

According to the defendant, during the investigation, the defendant was proposed to be prosecuted for embezzlement of property, the defendant did not understand why he embezzled. But when reading the indictment, looking at the overall behavior of the defendant, it was not too serious or heavy.

" The day the prosecutor proposed a sentence of 19-20 years in prison, I didn't know what to think, I didn't know why. During my detention, I hadn't been able to meet my family, and I really wanted to meet them. But after the request, I didn't dare meet my children because I was ashamed," defendant Ho Buu Phuong said, moved and crying.

The defendant also asked the panel of judges to consider reducing the sentence for the defendant.

The last small link in the case

Defending defendant Ho Buu Phuong, the lawyer said that the sentence proposed by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy for the defendant was too severe compared to the level and actions committed.

The People's Procuracy proposed that the People's Court sentence defendant Ho Buu Phuong to 19-20 years in prison for the crime of embezzlement of property.

According to the lawyer, defendant Phuong admitted that he was wrong when he coordinated with other defendants of Van Thinh Phat Group to "disburse the fund" by creating contracts to transfer shares for loans at SCB Bank, causing serious consequences, and the defendant asked to take part of the responsibility.

However, Ho Buu Phuong's role in the system and process of withdrawing money from SCB was limited and specialized, unlike the allegations in the indictment and accusation.

Ho Buu Phuong is a person with deep expertise in auditing and securities. He has a foreign degree in securities activities, so he was recruited by Ms. Truong My Lan to Van Thinh Phat to hold specialized operational roles.

The defense attorney also argued that, at the trial, Ms. Truong My Lan asserted that her client was performing professional activities and did not know much about internal affairs, in other words, did not know about important matters related to money withdrawals and money flows, and Ms. Truong My Lan herself only worked with close relatives.

In addition, when receiving the company's profile, Ho Buu Phuong did not know if it was a real or a ghost company. Therefore, when giving his opinion on pricing, Ho Buu Phuong relied on his personal knowledge and experience to evaluate and then price appropriately according to his subjective perception.

" There is clearly no connection or specific direction from Ms. Truong My Lan in Ho Buu Phuong's work activities," the lawyer said, adding that, in the context of the Van Thinh Phat Group's very large scale of operations, its powerful and almost endless resources, it is understandable that Ho Buu Phuong has the confidence to set prices for companies.

According to the lawyer, the plan to "disburse" the loans disbursed by SCB appeared before Ho Buu Phuong held the position of Deputy General Director in charge of finance at Van Thinh Phat Group.

Therefore, defendant Phuong only followed the previous practice at Van Thinh Phat without considering the right or wrong of this activity, so he hopes that the panel of judges and the People's Procuracy will consider this content to re-evaluate the circumstances and background of the defendant's crime.

Defendant Truong My Lan and other defendants at the trial.

The defense attorney also said that Ho Buu Phuong did not know that the source of the money assigned to disburse the fund was illegally borrowed; he did not know what purpose the Van Thinh Phat Group actually used this money for.

Therefore, the act of releasing funds is just a pretense to temporarily transfer unused money out of the Borrowing Company, and then recover it.

The lawyer also asked the panel of judges to consider that the defendant Ho Buu Phuong's actions were only a small, final link in the case, not an organized and sophisticated activity.

According to the indictment, Ho Buu Phuong was Deputy General Director in charge of finance of Van Thinh Phat Group and Van Thinh Phat Investment Company from 2013 to July 31, 2020.

In addition to professional financial tasks, Phuong was also directed by Truong My Lan and assigned to coordinate with the Office of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat Group, Nguyen Phuong Anh and related individuals to develop a plan to "disburse funds" for the amount of money that SCB Bank disbursed into the accounts of the beneficiary companies under the fake loan plan for Truong My Lan to use for various purposes.

To disburse the fund, the defendants made contracts promising to transfer fake shares, in which "ghost" companies received the disbursed money promising to buy shares from individuals (hired to own shares of other "ghost" companies).

After signing the contract promising to transfer shares and transfer money, individuals will go to the Bank to sign the withdrawal documents; the beneficiary company that promises to buy shares only records it in the "accounts receivable" section, does not carry out the procedures to change the name or transfer shares, so no tax is incurred, avoiding the detection of violations by the Tax Authority or the Inspection Authority.

Whenever a large sum of money was needed, Nguyen Phuong Anh would report and ask for Ho Buu Phuong's opinion to create contracts promising to transfer shares. At such times, Ms. Lan would summon Ho Buu Phuong and the Head of the Office of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat Group (Ha Thuc Kim or Dang Phuong Hoai Tam) and Phan Chi Luan, an employee of the Office of the Board of Directors of Van Thinh Phat Group to hold a meeting to agree on the list, number of shares and unit price of shares participating in the promised transfer of shares.

Then the Board of Directors Office presents a list of companies and individuals owning shares to participate in the commitment to transfer shares.

Defendant Phuong gave his opinion on the unit price applied to each company's shares based on the assessment of the time of establishment, capital scale, and existing assets (unit price of shares for newly established companies without assets is from 10,000 VND/share to 30,000 VND/share) for defendant Lan to refer to and decide.

Based on Ho Buu Phuong's opinion, Nguyen Phuong Anh created contracts promising to buy and sell shares between companies (under Phuong Anh's responsibility) that borrowed capital from SCB Bank, to withdraw money after disbursement.

Ho Buu Phuong asked Phuong Anh to work with Phan Chi Luan to get a plan to promise to transfer shares, and with Luan to review the companies (to avoid cross-ownership of shares between companies) and apply a relative share price according to the scale, time of establishment and assets of the company that defendant Luan had established according to defendant Phuong's instructions and formula.

The investigation results determined: During the period from January 1, 2018 to July 31, 2020, Nguyen Phuong Anh reported and asked for Ho Buu Phuong's opinion to create contracts promising to transfer shares for 277 loans of 118 companies at SCB. As of October 17, 2022, the remaining principal debt was nearly VND 216,983 billion and interest debt was more than VND 99,228 billion. Of which, the amount withdrawn in the form of creating fake contracts promising to transfer shares was VND 190,771.5 billion.

Hoang Tho

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