Member of Hong Kong leader’s policy unit denies involvement in Vietnam’s biggest fraud case
- Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan sentenced to death for US$12.5 billion fraud involving Saigon Commercial Bank
- Lee George Lam denies involvement in case and insists he was not part of the management of bank, although he had been ‘external non-resident member’ of board
A member of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit Expert Group in Hong Kong who is 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 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.
