Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, has been sentenced to death by a court in Vietnam for her involvement in a $12.5 billion financial fraud case, which is the country’s largest on record.
The verdict was reached at the end of a trial in Ho Chi Minh City, where Lan was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery, and violations of banking rules.
According to state media, the 67-year-old illegally controlled the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank from 2012 to 2022, using it to siphon funds through thousands of ghost companies and paying bribes to government officials.
Prosecutors estimated that the alleged asset appropriation by Truong My Lan amounted to about 3 percent of Vietnam’s GDP in 2022. More than 1,000 properties belonging to Lan were seized by authorities.
Throughout the trial, Truong My Lan denied the charges against her and shifted blame to her subordinates. In her final remarks to the court, she expressed thoughts of suicide, lamenting her involvement in the banking sector, which she admitted having little knowledge of.
The arrest of Truong My Lan in October 2022 was a significant development in Vietnam’s ongoing anti-corruption drive, known as the “Blazing Furnace” campaign, which began in 2016 and intensified in 2022. This campaign has targeted high-ranking officials, leading to resignations of two presidents and two prime ministers, as well as disciplinary actions against hundreds of officials.
Michael Tatarski, host of the Vietnam Weekly podcast, noted that Truong My Lan and her family had maintained a low profile despite their immense wealth. He emphasized the unprecedented scale of the financial crime and the government’s efforts to combat corruption.
While some view the crackdown as politically motivated, there is widespread recognition of the need to address corruption and fraud within Vietnam.
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