A court in Vietnam handed down a death sentence to real estate tycoon Truong My Lan on Thursday for her involvement in a massive financial fraud case worth 304 trillion dong ($12.5 billion), the largest in the country’s history, as reported by state media.
Lan, who served as the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, faced charges of embezzlement, bribery, and violations of banking regulations.
Her trial, which commenced on March 5, concluded earlier than anticipated and resulted in the dramatic verdict in the business hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
“We will keep fighting to see what we can do,” a family member told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, according to CNN reports. Before the verdict, the family member had said Lan would appeal against the sentence.
Lan had pleaded not guilty to the embezzlement and bribery charges, Nguyen Huy Thiep, one of Lan’s lawyers, told Reuters.
“Of course she will appeal the verdict,” he added, noting she was sentenced to death for the embezzlement charge and to 20 years each for the other two charges of bribery and violations of banking regulations.
Truong My Lan, along with her accomplices, was convicted of embezzling over 304 trillion dong from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), which she effectively controlled through numerous proxies despite regulations strictly limiting significant shareholding in financial institutions, according to investigators.
Between early 2018 and October 2022, when SCB faced a depositor panic triggered by Lan’s arrest and subsequently required a state bailout, she misappropriated substantial sums by orchestrating illicit loans to shell companies, as stated by investigators.
Currently, SCB is being supported by the central bank and is undergoing a complex restructuring process. Authorities are endeavoring to ascertain the legal status of numerous assets that were utilized as collateral for loans and bonds issued by VTP, with the bonds alone amounting to $1.2 billion. While some assets comprise high-end properties, many remain unfinished projects.
Prior to her downfall, Lan held a prominent position in Vietnam’s financial sphere and had previously been involved in the earlier rescue of troubled SCB over a decade ago, before contributing to the bank’s subsequent crisis.
She was found guilty of bribing officials to turn a blind eye, including allegedly paying $5.2 million to a senior central bank inspector, Do Thi Nhan, who was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Vietnam predominantly reserves the death penalty for violent crimes, but it also applies it to economic offenses. According to human rights groups, the country has executed numerous convicts in recent years, primarily through lethal injection.
In the case mentioned, 84 defendants received varying sentences, including probation for three years to life imprisonment. Among them were Truong My Lan’s husband, Eric Chu, a Hong Kong businessman, who was sentenced to nine years in prison, and her niece, who received a 17-year sentence.