Vietnam billionaire sentenced to death in country's biggest fraud case

Truong My Lan faces charges ranging from bribery, abuse of power, appropriation and violations of banking law

A Vietnamese court has handed down a death sentence to real estate tycoon Truong My Lan for her role in a $12.5 billion fraud case, marking one of the harshest punishments issued since the Communist Party's anti-corruption campaign began.

Lan, 67, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group, was arrested in 2022 and faced charges of bribing government officials and violating bank lending regulations. The primary accusation against her was the misappropriation of funds from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) between February 2018 and October 2022.

The sum she allegedly embezzled surpasses the market capitalisation of most Vietnamese banks. Her arrest, initially for bond fraud, caused panic among SCB depositors, resulting in a bank run. This led to the State Bank of Vietnam taking over the bank's operations.

Capital punishment is not uncommon in Communist Vietnam, where it is imposed for 22 offences, including murder, armed robbery, drug trafficking, rape, sexual abuse of children, and various economic crimes such as corruption, fraud, and embezzlement.

Lan's trial has drawn attention to Vietnam's sweeping anti-corruption campaign led by Communist Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. This initiative has targeted all levels of society and the highest levels of government, coinciding with Vietnam's rise as a crucial global supply chain hub for companies like Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.

The case has also sparked controversy in Vietnam's bond, banking, and real estate sectors. The last widely publicised death sentence for a corruption charge was in 2013, when two former executives of Vietnam National Shipping Lines were convicted of embezzlement.

Lan's company, also known as VTP, owns some of Ho Chi Minh City's most prestigious properties, making it the nation's commercial hub. As state media reported, during the trial, Lan offered to surrender several family-owned assets to compensate for the losses suffered by Saigon Commercial Bank.

Lan has maintained that she did not intentionally break the law or cause damage to the state and depositors.

The five-week trial was conducted under heavy security at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court. A total of 86 defendants were tried in the case, including Lan's husband, Hong Kong businessman Eric Chu, and her niece, VTP Chief Executive Officer Truong Hue Van.