Member of CE’s policy unit denies Vietnam fraud role

Lee George Lam says allegations are unfounded and he will contact Hanoi ‘to clear the matter’

A member of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit Expert Group wanted by the Vietnamese government has denied his involvement in the country’s biggest financial fraud after real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for plundering more than US$12.5 billion from a bank using hundreds of ghost companies.

The fraud also involved embezzlement, bribery and banking regulation violations, according to the Vietnamese court.

A state-run newspaper said the public security ministry had issued an arrest warrant for Lee George Lam, a former board member of Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), on October 29, 2023, for “abusing his authority to actively assist Truong My Lan in embezzling money from SCB”.

As part of the expert group, Lam, who is currently in Hong Kong, has advised the city’s leader on policies along with other members. He is also a former chairman of Cyberport and is co-chairman of the city’s first satellite manufacturer, Uspace Technology Group.

“The allegation is unfounded, I will contact the Vietnamese authorities to clear the matter,” Lam told the Post.

Public investigators said that between early 2018 and October 2022, when SCB was bailed out by the state after a run on its deposits, Lan appropriated large sums by arranging unlawful loans to shell companies.

According to Vietnamese state media, prosecutors said Lam worked at SCB from June 2012 to January 19, 2015, and was a member of the board of directors and vice-chairman.

“Lee George Lam’s aiding behaviour is showed by his involvement in signing and approving loan transactions for individuals and legal entities of the Van Thinh Phat Group, which were not regular lending activities as prescribed by law; the loan documents were falsified to legitimise procedures for withdrawing funds from SCB, serving the personal purposes of Truong My Lan,” the public document stated, according to state media.

But Lam denied involvement in the fraud. He said he was a member and vice-chairman of the board of SCB from June 2012 to the end of 2014, and his term ended in January 2015.

He had not had any contact with the board since that time, he said, adding he was then not part of the management and had no authority to grant loans.

“Since 2015, I have never approved any loans as part of the board decision collectively. I was not involved in any day-to-day management,” Lam said.

He said he had not received any official notification about the matters set out in the recent news and had also not been contacted about any arrest warrant or investigation.

But Vietnamese state media said the public security ministry had issued a request to the Department of Justice in Hong Kong for help in verifying Lam’s identity.

According to the country’s state media, investigators accused Lam of violating banking regulations and, with others, causing nearly 20 trillion dong (HK$6.26 billion) in damages to SCB, in his alleged role as an accomplice to Lan.

But the Investigative Police Agency of the public security ministry decided to separate the criminal case and temporarily suspend the investigation last November since Lam had left the country and they did not know his whereabouts. Lan has 15 days from the announcement of the verdict to appeal.

Since 2015, I have never approved any loans as part of the board decision collectively LEE GEORGE LAM, FORMER BOARD MEMBER OF SAIGON COMMERCIAL BANK

The five-week trial in Ho Chi Minh City has gripped Vietnam.

Lan, 67, owner of the Van Thinh Phat real estate company, was found guilty of orchestrating the massive fraud at SCB that drained the savings and investments of tens of thousands of people. Her husband, Eric Chu Nap-kee, a Hong Kong investor, was also sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment for breaches of banking regulations.

The country’s communist leadership has been carrying out a crackdown on corruption, which is scything through Vietnam’s political and business elite.

A Hong Kong government spokesman said it had been working with other jurisdictions to combat crimes.

But he added it was not appropriate to disclose details of a request made by a specific country concerning an active case.