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A Vietnamese court in Ho Chi Minh City upheld the death penalty for real estate magnate Truong My Lan on Tuesday, after his conviction in a sprawling multi-billion dollar fraud case. An AFP journalist, who was present at the hearing, reported that the court concluded there were no grounds to alter the original sentence.
Truong My Lan, a 68-year-old property developer, was convicted earlier this year of embezzling vast sums from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), which prosecutors claimed she had control over. The court sentenced her to death for orchestrating a fraudulent scheme that amounted to a staggering $27 billion.
Truong My Lan, in a handwritten appeal that spanned more than five pages and was reviewed by AFP, argued that the death penalty was “too severe and harsh.” She implored the court to take a “more lenient and humane approach” to her sentence.
On Tuesday, Lan sat in the front row of the courtroom, waiting to hear if her life would be spared. Next to her was her husband, who is appealing a nine-year sentence for violating banking regulations.
The month-long appeal was attended by more 100 lawyers, according to state media.
Tens of thousands of people who invested their savings in SCB lost money, shocking the communist nation and prompting rare protests from the victims.
According to Vietnamese law, Lan could escape the death penalty if she proactively returns three-quarters of the embezzled assets and is judged to have cooperated sufficiently with authorities.
But prosecutors have argued she has not met the conditions, and emphasised her crime’s consequences were “huge and without precedent”.
Lan, who founded real estate development group Van Thinh Phat, told the court in Ho Chi Minh City “the quickest way” to repay the stolen funds would be “to liquidate SCB, and sell our assets to repay SBV (State Bank of Vietnam) and the people”.
“I feel pained due to the waste of national resources,” Lan said last week, adding she felt “very embarrassed to be charged with this crime”.
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Lan owned just five percent of shares in SCB on paper, but at her trial, the court concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90 percent through family, friends and staff. The State Bank said in April that it pumped funds into SCB to stabilise it, without revealing how much.
Among the assets that Lan and Van Thinh Phat own are a shopping mall, a harbour and luxurious housing complexes in business hub Ho Chi Minh City.
During her first trial in April, Lan was found guilty of embezzling $12.5 billion, but prosecutors said the total damages caused by the scam amounted to $27 billion — equivalent to around six percent of the country’s 2023 GDP.
Lan and dozens of defendants, including senior central bank officials were arrested as part of a national corruption crackdown dubbed the “burning furnace” that has swept up numerous officials and members of Vietnam’s business elite.
A total of 47 other defendants have requested reduced sentences at the appeal. Last month, Lan was convicted of money laundering and jailed for life in a separate case.
