Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to death on Tuesday for massive bank fraud, but his appeal failed.
Lawyers for Ms. Lan, who founded the real estate development company, had asked the court for a more lenient sentence, but the judge said Ms. Lan's crime – Misappropriation of US$12 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank – with serious consequences for tens of thousands of people, who lost their savings.
However, according to state media reports, Lan could have saved her life if she returned most of the embezzled assets. If she can do that, her sentence could be reduced to life in prison.
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Lan, chairman of developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was sentenced to death in April for his role in Vietnam's largest known financial fraud.
According to online newspaper VnExpress, the Higher People's Court in southern Ho Chi Minh City ruled that there was no basis to mitigate Lan's death sentence.
According to reports, if Lan can return three-quarters of the money he embezzled while on death row, his sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment.
She is one of the most prominent business executives and state officials to have been imprisoned for a long time in the communist country. The anti-corruption campaign known as the “crucible of fire”.
“The consequences caused by Lan are unprecedented in the history of litigation, and the amount of misappropriated funds is unprecedentedly huge and cannot be recovered,” state-run online newspaper Vietnam Net quoted prosecutors as saying at an appeal hearing.
“The defendants' actions affected many aspects of society, financial markets and the economy,” it said.
State media quoted Lan's lawyer as saying she had numerous mitigating circumstances, including “confessing guilt, repentance, and repaying part of the embezzlement money,” but prosecutors said that was not enough.
Reuters could not immediately reach Lan's lawyer for comment.
Lan still has the right to request a review under Vietnam's quashing or retrial procedure.
Lan's arrest in 2022 triggered a run on Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), one of the country's largest private banks by deposits, which was at the center of the fraud and was mainly owned by Lan through his agents.
Documents reviewed by Reuters showed that as of April, Vietnam's central bank had injected an “unprecedented” $24 billion in “special loans” to Standard Chartered Bank.
In addition to the death penalty, Lan was sentenced to life in prison in a separate trial in October for crimes of obtaining property through fraud, money laundering and illegal cross-border fund transfers.
- Reuters Additional editing by Jim Pollard
See also:
Vietnam to execute real estate tycoon over record fraud – AP
Vietnam's biggest scam ever: Developer faces death penalty
U.S. chip companies plan to invest $8 billion in Vietnam, officials say
Vietnam's economic growth slumps on falling exports and anti-corruption push
China's Xi Jinping begins state visit to Vietnam aimed at closer relations with Vietnam
Chinese investment in Vietnam doubles as U.S. trade eases
China signs rail and data deals with Vietnam while upgrading ties
