In Vietnam, a court has given a death sentence to a real estate tycoon named Truong My Lan for her part in a massive $12.5 billion financial fraud scheme.
This is the country’s biggest financial fraud case so far. Lan, who leads the well-known company Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of stealing money, offering bribes, and breaking banking rules after a trial in Ho Chi Minh City, as stated by state media on Thursday. She has 15 days to challenge the decision with her legal team.
During her time as the head of the company from 2012 to 2022, the 67-year-old Lan took control of Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) illegally. She moved the money through many fake companies and gave bribes to government workers.
Lan’s trial started on March 5 and ended earlier than expected. It’s part of a bigger effort to stop corruption in Vietnam led by the head of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong. Lan’s family said they will keep fighting the decision. They mentioned that she plans to appeal the ruling.
Lan denied the charges of stealing money and offering bribes, according to one of her lawyers. She was sentenced to death for stealing money and got 20 years each for the other charges of bribery and breaking banking rules.
Vietnam uses the death penalty mainly for violent crimes but also for serious financial crimes. Human rights groups say that Vietnam has put many people to death in recent years, mostly by lethal injection.
According to reports, 84 people involved in this case got different sentences, from probation to life in prison. Among them, Lan’s husband, Eric Chu, got nine years in prison, and her niece got 17 years.
Lan started her career selling cosmetics in a market in Ho Chi Minh City and later started her real estate company in 1992. Investigators say she and her partners took more than 304 trillion dong from SCB, which she controlled even though there are strict rules about owning big parts of banks.
From 2018 to 2022, she took large amounts of money by giving illegal loans to fake companies, investigators added. Her actions damaged people’s trust in the bank and the government, according to the court.
The bank is now supported by the central bank and needs a big reorganization. Authorities are working to figure out the legal status of many assets used as security for loans and bonds. These bonds alone are worth $1.2 billion.
Before her legal troubles, Lan was an important person in Vietnam’s financial sector. She was involved in helping the bank when it had problems over ten years ago. She was also found guilty of paying bribes to avoid getting caught, including giving $5.2 million to a top bank inspector who got a life sentence.
Vietnam is trying hard to fight corruption, with many high-ranking officials and business people facing legal actions or being forced to leave their positions.
Corruption is so common that some people even say they have to pay bribes for basic services like medical care in public hospitals, according to a recent survey.
