HO CHI MINH: A Vietnamese court sentenced property tycoon Truong My Lan to death for his involvement in a 304 trillion dong (Rp. 192 trillion) fraud case, the largest fraud case in the country’s history.
Lan, chairman of the property development company Van Thit Phat Holdings Group (VPT), was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery and violating banking regulations at a trial in Ho Chi Minh City.
VPT controls some of the most prestigious properties ranging from office buildings, luxury residential buildings, hotels and shopping centers in Vietnam’s commercial heart of Ho Chi Minh City.
The trial which began on March 5 ended earlier than planned on Thursday (April 11).
Lan’s sentence is part of a vigorous anti-corruption campaign being promoted by the leader of Vietnam’s ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong.
The campaign, nicknamed the “fireplace”, has resulted in hundreds of senior state officials and prominent business executives being tried or forced to resign from their positions.
This anti-corruption hunt even claimed the lives of two Vietnamese presidents, namely former presidents, Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and Võ Văn Thưởng who were forced to resign after alleged links to corruption cases.
In 2022, shares on the Vietnam stock exchange experienced a decline of 40 billion US dollars after a series of arrests of major corporate executives shook investor confidence in the economy of Uncle Ho’s country.
Investigators revealed that Lan and his colleagues were proven to have defrauded Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) by diverting more than 304 trillion dong from the bank through dozens of intermediaries.
This fraud occurred from early 2018 to October 2022, when the government disbursed bailout funds to SCB.
This incident triggered mass panic in these financial institutions.
Lan moved large sums of money by diverting them into funds in the form of loans to shell or ghost companies.
The 66-year-old woman will appeal the decision.
