As the nation expands its long-running anti-graft campaign, a Vietnamese real estate magnate was detained on suspicion of financial fraud, the police said on Saturday.
According to a news release from the Ministry of Public Security on Saturday, Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City’s Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was charged with illegally issuing bonds to raise trillions of dong (tens of millions of dollars) from investors during the 2018–2019 period.
The ministry stated that “further research is undertaken to explain the scams.”
A request for comment from Reuters was not immediately answered by Lan’s firm.
With a slew of high-profile corporate arrests, involving leading stockbrokers, real estate developers, and even regulators, Vietnam has expanded its anti-graft campaign.
The police-run ministry reported on Saturday that three other people who were allegedly involved in Lan’s case were also detained.
According to the ministry, Van Thinh Phat Holdings improperly acquired a number of prime pieces of state-owned land in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.
This week, social media rumours about Lan’s impending arrest caused a run on Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) due to rumours that Lan had connections to the bank.
On Saturday, the Vietnamese central bank told depositors at SCB that it was keeping an eye on the situation there.
The State Bank of Vietnam stated in a statement that it will implement measures and policies in compliance with the law to protect depositor rights and interests, safeguard the stability of the SCB specifically, and the system of credit institutions generally.
Lan did not have any administrative or executive positions at the bank, according to a statement released by SCB on Saturday, and her detention had no impact on how the bank was run.
The bank stated in the statement, “SCB undertakes to have enough procedures and resources to guarantee its depositors’ rights and interests as well as the rights and interests of its partners and clients.”
