(Oct 17): A Vietnamese real estate tycoon facing the death penalty for fraud was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty on additional charges, showing the extent of the ruling Communist Party’s determination to crack down on corruption.
Truong My Lan was convicted of fraudulent appropriation of property, money laundering and illegally transporting currency across international borders.
While Vietnam has embarked on a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown that has forced top government officials to step down and sent some senior executives to jail, Lan’s case has grabbed global attention due to the severity of the sentences. Closer to home, the Communist government is showcasing that this is the high-level corruption it wants to go after.
The court judge said Lan “will have to take the highest responsibility” in the case. The tycoon, clad once again in a blue shirt and wearing a mask, sat quietly throughout proceedings in the Ho Chi Minh City court as the ruling took place with a heavy security presence outside the building. Lan has denied several of the charges. It’s not yet clear whether she will appeal.
Lan and her 33 co-defendants were found guilty of the illegal transportation of roughly US$4.5 billion (RM19.4 billion) across international borders, laundering some 446 trillion dong in pilfered assets from Saigon Commercial Bank, and misappropriating about 30 trillion dong from investors via bond issuances.
Many of the thousands of bondholders who have seen investments all but vanish turned out to watch the second trial on a big screen outside the courthouse. Nguyen Thi Lan, who has more than 1 billion dong tied up in the company, said Lan “deserved the life sentence” and that it’s “needed to restore the confidence of investors.”
The 68-year-old property mogul was sentenced to death in April for her role in Vietnam’s largest-ever fraud case, after being found guilty of embezzling US$12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank, known as SCB, between February 2018 and October 2022. She is appealing her death sentence. Her lawyer has said a date for this hearing is yet to be fixed.
Lan is one of the highest-profile targets of the government’s years-long anti-corruption crackdown, known as the “blazing furnace” campaign. It was spearheaded by the late Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his successor, To Lam, has said he will “resolutely” continue the aggressive push that has touched all aspects of society and led to the detention of scores of senior officials and business executives.
The corruption case involving SCB has also highlighted financial supervisory shortcomings in the country, Fitch Ratings said in a May report. The lender, which is receiving support from the State Bank through special loans, was put under “special scrutiny” shortly after Lan’s arrest, which led to a bank run in Oct 2022.
Seventeen government banking system inspectors were convicted of taking bribes to cover up the SCB violations, according to police reports. Among them was a former head of the State Bank’s inspection and supervision unit, Do Thi Nhan, who was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of accepting as much as US$5.2 million in bribes.
During the month-long second trial, Lan broke down in tears at times, telling the court that she never expected her life to end this way, but was prepared to take responsibility, according to news website VnExpress. She also pleaded for reduced sentences for other defendants, including her niece and her driver, saying they were just carrying out their duties as employees.
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