HANOI, Dec 3 (Press Ki Taquat Bureau) :
A Vietnamese court has confirmed the death sentence of real estate magnate Truong My Lan, dismissing her appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery linked to a significant $12 billion fraud case, according to state media reports. As the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, Lan was sentenced to death in April for her involvement in what is recognized as Vietnam’s largest financial fraud case to date. The High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City found no grounds to alter her death sentence, as reported by the online publication VnExpress. It was noted that if Lan manages to return three-quarters of the embezzled funds while on death row, there is a possibility that her sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment. She is among the most prominent business leaders and government officials imprisoned during the extensive anti-corruption campaign in Vietnam, referred to as “Blazing Furnace.”
The prosecution highlighted the unprecedented nature of the consequences resulting from Lan’s actions, emphasizing the significant and unrecoverable amount of money involved. They stated that her conduct has had far-reaching effects on various societal aspects, including the financial market and the economy. While Lan’s attorney pointed out several mitigating factors, such as her admission of guilt, expression of remorse, and partial repayment of the embezzled funds, the prosecution deemed these insufficient. Lan retains the option to seek a review through Vietnam’s cassation or retrial processes. Her arrest in 2022 triggered a withdrawal of deposits from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), one of the nation’s largest private banks, which was central to the fraud and largely owned by Lan through intermediaries. In response, Vietnam’s central bank had injected $24 billion in “special loans” into SCB, marking an unprecedented intervention. In addition to the death sentence, Lan received a life sentence in a separate trial in October for related charges.
