Source: Wikipedia
A Vietnamese real estate magnate was arrested on suspicion of financial fraud on Saturday, authorities said, as the country continues its years-long anti-graft campaign.
Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City-based Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was charged on Saturday with fraudulently issuing bonds to raise billions of dong (tens of millions of dollars) from investors during the 2018-2019 fiscal year.
“Further investigations are being conducted to clarify the frauds,” the ministry stated.
Lan’s company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
According to the ministry, there were anomalies in Van Thinh Phat Holdings’ acquisition of many state-owned land slots in prime downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
Rumours about Lan’s impending arrest circulated on social media earlier this week, causing a run on Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) due to suspicions of ties between Lan and the bank.
Vietnam recently expanded its anti-corruption campaign, arresting a number of high-profile corporate figures, including leading stockbrokers, property developers, and even regulators.
Three additional people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in Lan’s case, according to the police-run ministry on Saturday.
On Saturday, Vietnam’s central bank reassured SCB depositors and stated it was monitoring the situation.
“SCB guarantees to have adequate measures and resources to ensure the rights and interests of its depositors, as well as the rights and interests of its partners and clients,” the bank said in a statement.
“The State Bank of Vietnam underlined that it will have solutions and policies in accordance with the law to safeguard depositors’ rights and interests, maintain the stability of the SCB in particular, and the credit institution system in general,” the central bank said in a statement.
Lan did not have any managerial or executive positions at the bank, according to a statement issued by SCB on Saturday, and her detention had no impact on the firm’s operations.
Vietnam’s Anti-Graft Campaign
There are no exceptions to the fact that corruption can undermine long-term growth. Countries who do not take safeguards will get caught in its vortex. Recognizing the dangers posed by this evil, the Vietnamese government and the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) have taken a number of anti-corruption measures in a systematic and ongoing effort to combat it.
Since the mid-1980s, when Vietnam transitioned from a centrally planned to a market economy, the country has maintained high economic development even during the epidemic period. The Vietnamese government and the VCP were well aware of the corruption-related issues.
Since the start of the anti-corruption campaign in 2012, their efforts have greatly improved the Vietnamese Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The enormous number of people prosecuted reflects both the magnitude of the problem and the successful methods adopted to address it.
168,000 CPV members have been disciplined and 7390 punished for corruption or ties to wrongdoing over the last 10 years of the Vietnamese anti-corruption effort, including 170 officials under the Party Central Committee’s control.
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