HCMC - Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Corporation, and 12 others involved in the Van Thinh Phat fraud case might face severe penalties such as death sentences, life imprisonment, or a 20-year jail term.

Lan and her 11 accomplices have been charged with bribery, violations of banking regulations, and expropriation of assets. Do Thi Nhan, former chief of the Inspectorate and Supervision Department II under the State Bank of Vietnam, also faces similar potential sentences for allegedly accepting bribes totaling US$5.2 million from Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB). The case is scheduled to be brought to court in HCMC on March 5 of this year and the trial will last two months. Among those indicted are 45 former leaders and officials of Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB), 15 former officials of the State Bank of Vietnam, and three former Government Inspectorate officials. They are facing charges related to expropriation of assets, bribery, abuse of power, negligence causing serious consequences, and violations of banking regulations. Truong My Lan will have five defense lawyers - Phan Trung Hoai, Phan Minh Hoang, Nguyen Huy Thiep, Giang Hong Thanh and Truong Thanh Duc, said the local media.