Vietnamese Property Tycoon Truong My Lan Sentenced to Death in $27 Billion Fraud Case: Largest Corruption Trial in Vietnamese History
A Vietnamese property tycoon, Truong My Lan, was sentenced to death on Thursday for swindling $27 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank over a decade.
Lan, the chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of fraud by a panel of jurors and judges in Ho Chi Minh City.
The verdict stated that her actions eroded public trust in the Communist Party and state.
Lan denied the charges and blamed her subordinates.
This is one of the biggest corruption cases in Vietnamese history.
A five-week trial resulted in the conviction of Chinese businessman Lan, who embezzled $12.5 billion.
Prosecutors claim the total damages caused by the scam are now $27 billion, equivalent to 6% of Vietnam's 2023 GDP. Lan and 85 others face sentencing on various charges, including bribery and abuse of power.
The damages caused by this case surpass the estimated $10 billion swindled by FTX exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Lan's death sentence is unusually severe, and the arrests are part of a national corruption crackdown that has targeted numerous officials and business elite members in recent years.
A Vietnamese businesswoman, known as a property mogul, expressed thoughts of suicide during her final court remarks last week.
She regretted getting involved in the banking sector, which she had little knowledge of, leading to her arrest in October 2022.
Protests, a rare occurrence in the one-party communist state, took place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in response to her arrest, with hundreds of people participating.
The verdict stated that her actions eroded public trust in the Communist Party and state.
Lan denied the charges and blamed her subordinates.
This is one of the biggest corruption cases in Vietnamese history.
A five-week trial resulted in the conviction of Chinese businessman Lan, who embezzled $12.5 billion.
Prosecutors claim the total damages caused by the scam are now $27 billion, equivalent to 6% of Vietnam's 2023 GDP. Lan and 85 others face sentencing on various charges, including bribery and abuse of power.
The damages caused by this case surpass the estimated $10 billion swindled by FTX exchange founder Sam Bankman-Fried.
Lan's death sentence is unusually severe, and the arrests are part of a national corruption crackdown that has targeted numerous officials and business elite members in recent years.
A Vietnamese businesswoman, known as a property mogul, expressed thoughts of suicide during her final court remarks last week.
She regretted getting involved in the banking sector, which she had little knowledge of, leading to her arrest in October 2022.
Protests, a rare occurrence in the one-party communist state, took place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in response to her arrest, with hundreds of people participating.
Translation:
Translated by AI
