Vietnamese Real Estate Mogul Sentenced to Death in $27 Billion Fraud Case
Truong My Lan, a leading Vietnamese property developer, receives a death sentence for orchestrating a $27 billion fraud, underscoring Vietnam's strict stance on corruption.
A leading Vietnamese real estate mogul has been given the death penalty in one of the largest corruption cases ever, causing an estimated damage of $27 billion. This decision came after a panel composed of three specially chosen jurors and two judges dismissed all defense claims by Truong My Lan, the head of the major development firm Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of stealing money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a period of ten years.
The verdict highlighted that the accused’s actions severely undermined public trust in the leadership of the Communist Party and the state government. Despite Lan’s denial of the charges and attributing the blame to her subordinates, the trial in Ho Chi Minh City, a major southern commercial center, concluded after five weeks. Alongside Lan, 85 other individuals were judged and sentenced on various charges, including bribery, abuse of power, embezzlement, and violations of banking laws.
Lan was specifically found to have embezzled over $12.5 billion. However, the prosecutors have assessed the total damages from the fraud to be $27 billion, equivalent to 6% of Vietnam’s GDP in 2023, marking an extraordinary loss to the nation’s economy. The death sentence handed to Lan is notably harsh for such crimes.
Her arrest was part of a wider national anti-corruption initiative that has implicated many officials and members of Vietnam’s business elite recently. In her last statement to the court, Lan mentioned contemplating suicide due to her desperation and frustration with her involvement in the banking sector, which she admitted knowing very little about.
Following Lan’s arrest in October 2022, protests broke out in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which is uncommon in the one-party communist state. The police have identified around 42,000 victims of this scandal, which has deeply shocked the nation. Lan, who is married to a wealthy businessman from Hong Kong also facing trial, was accused of creating false loan applications to siphon money from SCB, a bank in which she held a 90% ownership.
Victims of the scam include SCB bondholders, who have been unable to access their funds or receive any interest or principal payments since Lan’s detention. It was revealed at the trial that prosecutors seized over 1,000 properties linked to Lan.
Additionally, nearly $5.4 million allegedly offered by Lan and some SCB bankers as bribes to state officials to cover up the bank’s regulatory violations and poor financial health represents the biggest bribe ever recorded in Vietnam. Do Thi Nhan, who was offered the bribe and formerly led the State Bank of Vietnam’s inspection team, testified that the money was delivered to her in Styrofoam boxes by SCB’s former CEO, Vo Tan Van. Nhan refused to accept the boxes upon discovering they contained cash, but Van refused to take them back.
The crackdown on corruption in Vietnam has led to more than 4,400 people being indicted in over 1,700 cases of graft since 2021. Another high-profile case involved Do Anh Dung, the head of the luxury property group Tan Hoang Minh, who was sentenced to eight years in jail last month after being found guilty of defrauding thousands of investors in a bond scam worth $359 million.
