Feb 2025
Artworks and words by Chi Vo
What began as scattered whispers in banking circles—unexplained loan approvals, a complex web of shell companies, and an impossibly fast-expanding property empire—quickly unraveled into Vietnam's largest financial fraud. By the time investigators pieced together the scheme, it was too late. Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) had suffered catastrophic losses of approximately $44 billion.
The fallout led to Truong My Lan's death sentence and, the arrest of the bank's chairman, leaving the country's financial system in turmoil.
1956
Truong My Lan
Born in 1956 in Saigon
(now Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam) to a Teochew heritage family, hailed from Guangdong, China.
She grew up selling fabric at Ben Thanh Market and onlu finished high school with no higher education
1992
VTP
Truong My Lan co-founded Van Thinh Phat with her husband Hong Kong businessman Chu Nap Kee.
2011
Lan then bought shares in the three banks from shareholders.
She allowed SCB to use her five-star Windsor hotel as collateral to borrow
15 trillion VND
($608.52 million) from the State Bank of Vietnam.
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)
Lan secretly acquired shares in the three banks in other people’s names.
Truong My Lan came on as a consultant and merged three failing banks under offer from deputy govenor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Tran Minh Tuan.
2012
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)
Truong My Lan owned 5% of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) on paper while in reality she own 91.4% via companies as institutional shareholders of SCB.
Truong My Lan had complete control over all the companies under Van Thinh Phat.
Lan instructed Van Thinh Phat executives to establish shell companies to borrow money from SCB.
The loans were given to names including Lan’s husband Erik Chu Nap Kee and niece Truong Hue Van.
2017
State Bank of Vietnam auditors concluded there were violations related to lending, handling bad debts and managemvent, and recommended putting it under special control.
Lan instructed the bank’s then chairman Dinh Van Thanh and CEO Van to bribe all 24 members of the audit team
The head of the investigation team, Do Thi Nhan, allegedly received $5.2 million
2022
By 2022, Lan and her accomplices had accumulated nearly 1,300 loans totaling 677 trillion VND (~27.63 billion USD), but authorities say the debts are unrecoverable.
October 2022, she was arrested for using fake loan applications to embezzle more than US$12.5 billion from Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, This caused a bank run.
1956
Truong My Lan
Born in 1956 in Saigon
(now Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam) to a Teochew heritage family, hailed from Guangdong, China.
She grew up selling fabric at Ben Thanh Market and onlu finished high school with no higher education
1992
VTP
Truong My Lan co-founded Van Thinh Phat with her husband Hong Kong businessman
Chu Nap Kee.
2011
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)
Lan then bought shares in the three banks from shareholders.
She allowed SCB to use her five-star Windsor hotel as collateral to borrow
15 trillion VND
($608.52 million) from the State Bank of Vietnam.
Truong My Lan came on as a consultant and merged three failing banks under offer from deputy govenor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Tran Minh Tuan.
Lan secretly acquired shares in the three banks in other people’s names.
2012
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)
Truong My Lan had complete control over all the companies under Van Thinh Phat.
Truong My Lan owned 5% of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) on paper while in reality she own 91.4% via companies as institutional shareholders of SCB.
The loans were given to names including Lan’s husband Erik Chu Nap Kee and niece Truong Hue Van.
Lan instructed Van Thinh Phat executives to establish shell companies to borrow money from SCB.
2017
State Bank of Vietnam auditors concluded there were violations related to lending, handling bad debts and managemvent, and recommended putting it under special control.
Lan instructed the bank’s then chairman Dinh Van Thanh and CEO Van to bribe all 24 members of the audit team
The head of the investigation team, Do Thi Nhan, allegedly received $5.2 million
2022
By 2022, Lan and her accomplices had accumulated nearly 1,300 loans totaling 677 trillion VND (~27.63 billion USD), but authorities say the debts are unrecoverable.
October 2022, she was arrested for using fake loan applications to embezzle more than US$12.5 billion from Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, This caused a bank run.
1956
Truong My Lan
Born in 1956 in Saigon
(now Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam) to a Teochew heritage family, hailed from Guangdong, China.
She grew up selling fabric at Ben Thanh Market and onlu finished high school with no higher education
1992
VTP
Truong My Lan co-founded Van Thinh Phat with her husband Hong Kong businessman
Chu Nap Kee.
2011
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)
Truong My Lan came on as a consultant and merged three failing banks under offer from deputy govenor of the State Bank of Vietnam, Tran Minh Tuan.
Lan then bought shares in the three banks from shareholders.
She allowed SCB to use her five-star Windsor hotel as collateral to borrow
15 trillion VND
($608.52 million) from the State Bank of Vietnam.
Lan secretly acquired shares in the three banks in other people’s names.
2012
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)
Truong My Lan owned 5% of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) on paper while in reality she own 91.4% via companies as institutional shareholders of SCB.
Truong My Lan had complete control over all the companies under Van Thinh Phat.
Lan instructed Van Thinh Phat executives to establish shell companies to borrow money from SCB.
The loans were given to names including Lan’s husband Erik Chu Nap Kee and niece Truong Hue Van.
2017
State Bank of Vietnam auditors concluded there were violations related to lending, handling bad debts and managemvent, and recommended putting it under special control.
Lan instructed the bank’s then chairman Dinh Van Thanh and CEO Van to bribe all 24 members of the audit team
The head of the investigation team, Do Thi Nhan, allegedly received $5.2 million
2022
By 2022, Lan and her accomplices had accumulated nearly 1,300 loans totaling 677 trillion VND (~27.63 billion USD), but authorities say the debts are unrecoverable.
October 2022, she was arrested for using fake loan applications to embezzle more than US$12.5 billion from Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, This caused a bank run.
Between 2012 and 2022, Truong My Lan and her associates created a network of fictitious businesses to secure massive loans, many of which were approved without collateral. To ensure compliance and evade scrutiny, Lan paid off regulators, auditors, and bank executives. Even the former chief inspector at Vietnam's Central Bank was sentenced to life in prison for accepting a $5 million bribe to ignore red flags.
By 2022, this ecosystem had enabled Lan and her associates to siphon off over 50% of SCB's total financial reserves, leading to catastrophic financial losses and triggering state intervention. The bank's downfall exposed the fragility of Vietnam's regulatory system unable to promptly respond to the decade-long massive fraud that put the nation's financial stability at risk.
Van Thinh Phat's ecosystem was a vast and intricately structured financial network that allowed Truong My Lan to maintain her grip over multiple industries while orchestrating one of the largest financial frauds in history.
At the core of the scheme was Van Thinh Phat Group, the conglomerate that dominated Vietnam's real estate sector. Over the years, the group expanded into a complex web of subsidiaries, financial institutions, ghost companies and offshore entities, all of which played a role in facilitating the fraud.
Relying on such a vast and intricately structured financial network, Truong My Lan maintained her grip over multiple industries.
Vạn Thịnh Phát’s ecosystem
Truong My Lan’s main organization
Approximately 1000 subsidiaries
Companies operating
in Vietnam
Financial
institutions
in Vietnam
Overseas company
network
Ghost
companies
Saigon Commercial
Bank (SCB)
Fake Capital Withdrawal
Properties and
Real Estates
Shell companies
Securities
Joint Stock
Tan Viet
Family’s capital and assets abroad
Construction Contracts
Restaurants
Viet Vinh Phu
Investment Fund
Debts
Vạn Thịnh Phát’s ecosystem
Truong My Lan’s main organization
Approximately 1000 subsidiaries
Companies operating
in Vietnam
Financial
institutions
in Vietnam
Overseas company
network
Ghost
companies
Properties and
Real Estates
Fake Capital Withdrawal
Shell companies
Saigon
Commercial
Bank
(SCB)
Securities
Joint Stock
Tan Viet
Family’s capital and assets abroad
Construction Contracts
Restaurants
Viet Vinh Phu
Investment Fund
Debts
Vạn Thịnh Phát’s ecosystem
Truong My Lan’s main organization
Approximately 1000 subsidiaries
Companies operating
in Vietnam
Financial
institutions
in Vietnam
Properties and Real Estates
Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB)
Securities Joint Stock Tan Viet
Restaurants
Viet Vinh Phu
Investment Fund
Overseas company
network
Ghost
companies
Fake Capital Withdrawal
Shell companies
Construction Contracts
Family’s capital and assets abroad
Debts
Financial Institutions: Van Thinh Phat leveraged financial entities such as Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, Tân Việt Securities, and Việt Vĩnh Phú Financial Corporation to move money, secure fraudulent loans, and manipulate financial transactions. SCB, in particular, became a key financial tool, issuing loans and approving transactions that were largely directed toward shell companies under Lan's control.
Ghost Companies in Vietnam: A network of over 1,000 domestic shell companies was created to funnel funds, inflate asset values, and disguise illicit financial transactions. These companies provided the appearance of legitimate business operations while primarily serving to launder money and justify fraudulent loans.
Overseas Companies & Offshore Accounts: To further obscure financial activities, Van Thinh Phat established ties with offshore entities in tax havens, ensuring that embezzled funds were safely moved out of Vietnam. These offshore accounts played a crucial role in hiding cash outflows and investments abroad.
The Panama Papers reveal at least one connection between connected to Truong My Lan and her family. Currently, a Hong Kong property linked to Lan family's British Virgin Islands-based shell company is up for sale in an effort to repay outstanding debts.
Real Estate Holdings: Van Thinh Phat's real estate empire, which included Times Square Saigon, Union Square building, Sherwood Residence, Windsor Plaza Hotel, Capital Place, and the unfinished IFC One Saigon, was both a symbol of power and a financial mechanism. These properties were used as collateral for billions in loans and were often repurchased, transferred, or leveraged in questionable deals to create the illusion of liquidity and financial health.
Bond Market Manipulation:Van Thinh Phat issued billions of dollars in bonds, with An Dong Investment Group playing a pivotal role in repurchasing these bonds to balance financial statements. This deceptive practice made Van Thinh Phat appear solvent while in reality, funds were being funneled through its financial maze.
Truong My Lan and accomplices embezzled more than 50% of Saigon Commercial Bank's total finance
At the time of arrest 2022, the financial status of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) in billion USD
Truong My Lan and accomplices' debts
27.42
Retail
customers' deposits
20.66
Valuable papers
3.11
Loan to the State bank of Vietnam
2.67
Credit
organizations' deposits
0.51
Source: Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam via VNExpress
Truong My Lan and accomplices embezzled more than 50% of Saigon Commercial Bank's total finance
At the time of arrest 2022, the financial status of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) in billion USD
Truong My Lan and accomplices' debts
27.42
Retail
customers' deposits
20.66
Valuable papers
3.11
Loan to the State bank of Vietnam
2.67
Credit
organizations' deposits
0.51
Source: Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam via VNExpress
Truong My Lan and accomplices embezzled more than 50% of Saigon Commercial Bank's total finance
At the time of arrest 2022, the financial status of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) in billion USD
Truong My Lan and accomplices' debts (27.42B)
Retail customers' deposits (20.66B)
Valuable papers (3.11B)
Loan to the State bank of Vietnam (2.67B)
Credit organizations' deposits (510M)
Source: Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam via VNExpress
The numbers tell a grim story. Once Vietnam's fifth-largest commercial bank by assets, Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB)had its reserves drained through an intricate network of fraudulent loans. Prosecutors allege that Lan orchestrated over 2,500 loans—93% of SCB's total loan portfolio—funneling money into shell companies under her control.
Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) has long been known for offering some of the highest deposit interest rates in Vietnam, attracting a steady flow of savings from the public. However, these deposits became a crucial mechanism in a vast financial scheme orchestrated by businesswoman Truong My Lan.
Lan allegedly exploited SCB's deposit system to withdraw large sums of money—sometimes as much as $3 million per transaction—through interbank loans, often without requiring collateral. To sustain this, SCB relied heavily on retailers' deposits to secure additional funds from other banks. However, when the State Bank of Vietnam imposed caps on interbank interest rates and restricted borrowing to a maximum of 20% of a bank's total finances, SCB faced mounting pressure.
To maintain liquidity and prevent mass withdrawals, the bank aggressively promoted high-interest offers to retail depositors, effectively luring them into keeping their savings with SCB. But as withdrawal requests began to exceed available funds, the situation spiraled further.
In a desperate bid to cover obligations, SCB allegedly misled depositors into signing legal documents under the pretense of traditional savings accounts. In reality, the fine print revealed they were purchasing bonds linked to shell companies controlled by Van Thinh Phat. As a result, countless investors unknowingly found themselves entangled in a fraudulent scheme.
Several affected depositors have since come forward, filing complaints over the deception, bringing the scandal into the national spotlight. Authorities are now investigating the full extent of the fraudulent activity, with potential legal repercussions looming over SCB and its key figures.
An Đông INVESTMENT JSC (An Đông), also owned by Truong My Lan, played a crucial role in the financial scheme. The bond debt recorded on Van Thinh Phat's account highlights a significant part of the operation.
An Dong repurchasing bonds from Van Thinh Phat suggests an effort to window-dress the financial statements or create the illusion of financial stability.
Dr Linh Nguyen, who is an associate professor of banking and finance at WHAT university and a former head of Treasury of Saigonbank, says:"From a financial analysis standpoint, if these two companies are interconnected, it could serve to balance the financial statements or create the illusion of Van Thinh Phat's prosperity. A bond functions as a lending agreement, and An Dong allowed Van Thinh Phat to borrow funds under the pretense of a thriving business. This arrangement could have been strategically implemented either to adjust the balance sheet or to present Van Thinh Phat as financially robust on paper."
"A bond typically has a five-year term. If Van Thinh Phat was unable to repay An Dong, it should have faced bankruptcy, yet it did not. This strongly suggests that the two entities were financially interlinked, operating from the same pool of funds." Dr Nguyen added.
Ho Chi Minh city is the most populous and largest commercial megapolis city in Vietnam.
These are some of Van Thinh Phat's properties in Districts 1, 3, and 5.
In District 1, areas are known as "golden" and "diamond" zones due to their exceptionally high property values and prime central location. The majority of Van Thinh Phat's commercial buildings are concentrated here.
These buildings offer the pinnacle of luxury living for Vietnamese residents in Ho Chi Minh City, home to the prestigious six-star Reverie Hotel and high-end fashion boutiques such as Tiffany & Co., Bentley, and Piguet.
Those properties and their surroundings mark the origins of Truong My Lan's journey, which began in Ho Chi Minh city's Chinatown. Starting as a fabric vendor, she expanded her empire to own the area's largest market, along with hotels and residential housing developments.
According to the Communist Party of Vietnam's publicationTruong My Lan primarily utilized real estate investments as the primary channel for laundering money within the country and collateral for loans.
Ho Chi Minh city is the most populous and largest commercial megapolis city in Vietnam.
These are some of Van Thinh Phat's properties in Districts 1, 3, and 5.
In District 1, areas are known as "golden" and "diamond" zones due to their exceptionally high property values and prime central location. The majority of Van Thinh Phat's commercial buildings are concentrated here.
These buildings offer the pinnacle of luxury living for Vietnamese residents in Ho Chi Minh City, home to the prestigious six-star Reverie Hotel and high-end fashion boutiques such as Tiffany & Co., Bentley, and Piguet.
Those properties and their surroundings mark the origins of Truong My Lan's journey, which began in Ho Chi Minh city's Chinatown. Starting as a fabric vendor, she expanded her empire to own the area's largest market, along with hotels and residential housing developments.
According to the Communist Party of Vietnam's publication Truong My Lan primarily utilized real estate investments as the primary channel for laundering money within the country and collateral for loans.
Besides the real estate portfolio in prime locations in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, Truong My Lan also has extensive property holdings in other areas and cities across Vietnam, including a $6 billion Mũi Đèn Đỏ project and Capital Place building in Hanoi, the nation's capital. These acquisitions were fueled by embezzled funds, further entwining Vietnam's financial and real estate sectors in the scandal.
The Communist Party's "Blazing Furnace" anti-corruption campaign, led by former Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong, has now turned its focus toward banking institutions. Authorities are tightening oversight, implementing stricter lending regulations, and considering more transparent practices for private banks.
"The common red flags in corporate governance are cross-ownership between banks and firms (as borrowers)," Dr Nguyen said.
Critics argue that Vietnam's financial system is still vulnerable to cronyism and weak regulatory enforcement. The SCB case exposed deep structural flaws that, if unaddressed, could enable another financial disaster.
"International regulatory bodies show signs of increased scrutiny of banking activities in Vietnam, such as KYC (Know Your Customer) regulations," Dr Nguyen observed.
For foreign investors, the SCB scandal is a stark warning. While Vietnam remains one of Asia's fastest-growing economies, governance risks must be carefully navigated.
As Truong My Lan faces execution, with the first trial concluding in a death sentence and a second case now underway, her downfall signals the end of an era of unchecked financial power and political influence. But whether Vietnam can genuinely reform its financial system in the wake of this scandal remains the billion-dollar question.