Businesswoman Truong My Lan’s fraudulent activities added up to nearly three percent of Vietnam’s 2022 GDP.
A Vietnamese court has upheld the death sentence for real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, rejecting her appeal against convictions for embezzlement and bribery in a fraud case involving over $12 billion.
This amount represents nearly three percent of Vietnam’s 2022 GDP, marking the country’s largest recorded financial fraud.
Lan, 67, served as chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group. Between 2012 and 2022, she illicitly controlled the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), orchestrating approximately 2,500 loans that resulted in losses exceeding $27 billion.
The Ho Chi Minh City court noted that if Lan repays at least three-quarters of the misappropriated funds her death sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment.
However, her lawyers’ claims of partial repayment already having been made by Lan were dismissed due to unresolved legal issues concerning some of the seized properties, which hindered accurate valuation.’Blazing Furnace’ Anti-Corruption Drive
Vietnam’s economy has boomed over the past decade as foreign investment poured in and the country became a preferred alternative to China while relations between Beijing and Washington deteriorated.
