Vietnamese woman faces death sentence after $27bn fraud trial
A FEMALE tycoon has been sentenced to death for embezzling billions from a Vietnamese bank in one of the biggest corruption cases in history.
Businesswoman Truong My Lan was found guilty yesterday of embezzlement, bribery and violating banking rules for her role in looting $12.5 billion (£10billion) from the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), in a case that shocked the country and triggered a run on the bank.
Lan embezzled billions from SCB over decades and prosecutors have said that total damages from the fraud now amount to $27 billion – equivalent to six per cent of Vietnam’s GDP. Lan denied the charges, instead blaming her subordinates.
“The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” said the final verdict delivered after a five-week trial which summoned 2,700 people and saw 104 boxes of evidence, weighing a total of six tons.
Lan, 67, became wealthy by purchasing a vast portfolio of properties. She later arranged the merger of three smaller banks into a single entity, which became SCB.
Prosecutors accused her of then taking out billions in loans from the bank, which she effectively controlled through a complicated network of shell companies and proxies.
They also claimed that she ordered her driver to withdraw $4billion in cash, which she kept in her basement, and that she attempted to bribe inspectors with millions to ensure her loans were not scrutinised.
Lan was first arrested in 2022. This gave rise to panic among depositors, triggering a run on the bank and forcing the State Bank of Vietnam to take control. It also led to protests in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.
Lan, whose family said they will appeal the verdict, looked haggard during her court appearances, a far cry from her usual, glamorous appearance. In her final statement last week, she told the court that “in my desperation, I thought of death”.
“I am so angry that I was stupid enough to get involved in this very fierce business environment – the banking sector – which I have little knowledge of,” she said.
The case comes amid an anti-corruption push led by Nguyen Phu Trong, the party’s secretary-general, who considers rampant bribery a threat to communism in Vietnam.