Vietnamese magnate given death penalty in $12 billion fraud trial

Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death by a Vietnamese court for her involvement in a $12.46 billion financial fraud case, the largest in the country's history. The trial of the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group in Ho Chi Minh City, ended early and resulted in a guilty verdict for embezzlement, bribery, and banking violations. The trial was part of the ruling Communist Party's ongoing campaign against corruption. "We will continue the fight and pursue all possible options," a family member told Reuters, speaking anonymously. Prior to the verdict, they had stated that Lan would appeal the sentence. Lan pleaded not-guilty to embezzlement and bribery charges, according to her lawyer, Nguyen Huy Thiep. He stated she will appeal the verdict as she was given the death sentence for embezzlement and 20 years for bribery and banking regulation violations.

Vietnam uses the death penalty for violent and economic crimes, executing hundreds of convicts, primarily by lethal injection. According to Thanh Nien newspaper, 84 defendants in the case were sentenced ranging from probation for three years to life imprisonment. They include Lan's husband, Eric Chu, a Hong Kong businessman, who received a nine-year jail term, and her niece, who was sentenced to 17 years. Lan started as a cosmetics trader in Ho Chi Minh City. She later founded her real estate company in 1992. She was found guilty of stealing over 304 trillion dong from SCB with her accomplices. Despite rules limiting large shareholding, she controlled the bank through proxies. From 2018 to October 2022, she arranged unlawful loans to shell companies, stealing large sums. "The defendant's actions violate property management rights and erode trust in the leadership of the Party and State, stated VnExpress. The bank relies on the central bank and faces a complex restructuring to establish the legal status of assets used as collateral for loans and bonds issued by VTP." The bonds are valued at $1.2 billion. Some assets are high-end properties, but many are unfinished projects.

Before her downfall, she played a key role in Vietnam's financial world, participating in the previous rescue of troubled SCB over a decade ago before contributing to the bank's current crisis. She was guilty of bribing officials, paying $5.2 million to a central bank inspector, Do Thi Nhan, who received a life sentence. Vietnam's "Blazing Furnace" graft crackdown has led to the prosecution or forced resignation of numerous senior officials and business executives. Widespread corruption has resulted in many people admitting to paying bribes for medical services in public hospitals, as per a recent survey by the U. N. Dev Program and other orgs.