Businesswoman sentenced to death in communist Vietnam in historical fraud case

=Businesswoman Truong My Lan, accused of appropriating some $12.5 billion through bank deposits in the largest fraud case in Vietnam's history, was sentenced to the death penalty this Thursday, in the midst of an anti-corruption campaign. in the communist country.

Judges at the Ho Chi Minh court sentenced the 67-year-old defendant after finding her guilty of bribery, violating banking regulations and misappropriation in this fraud committed through a criminal network over 10 years, according to reports VN Express.

"The actions of the accused... eroded trust in the leadership of the party and the State," says the sentence read during the trial, after which the businesswoman's defense said that she would appeal the sentence.

According to the investigation, Lan used front men and employees to take over 91 percent of the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and then diverted large sums of money with some 2,500 loans to shell companies between 2012 and 2022.

That of the SCB, the largest bank in assets in the country, is one of the largest frauds in Asia, since the 304 trillion dong diverted (12.5 billion dollars or 11.5 billion euros) represent 3 percent of Vietnamese GDP in 2022 and triple the fortune of the richest Vietnamese, Pham Nhat Vuong.

However, the Prosecutor's Office stated today that the damages caused by fraud now amount to 27 billion dollars (25.18 billion euros), which represents six percent of the country's GDP in 2023.

The authorities indicate that they have seized more than a thousand properties that belonged to Lan, who amassed a large fortune in the real estate sector and was president of the Van Thinh Phat Group.

The businesswoman, arrested in 2022, did not hold any position in the bank and only owned 4 percent of the shares, but controlled up to 91 percent of the shares through people she trusted who followed her instructions.

In addition to Lan, there are more than 80 defendants in the case, including a former Central Bank official, Do Thi Nhan, who has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting a $5.2 million bribe.

This mega case of fraud occurs within the framework of the intensification of the anti-corruption campaign launched in recent years by the Vietnamese authorities, which has affected senior political and business officials.

Last month, the president, Vo Van Thuong, resigned after being involved in "irregularities", without the authorities specifying the accusations, and last year his predecessor in office, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, also resigned.

The anti-corruption campaign was launched by Vietnam Communist Party Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, 79, the most powerful man in the country.

Lan's trial has been widely covered by the Vietnamese press, which is closely censored by the authorities, indicating that they want to publicize the case to serve as an example.

It is the largest fraud in recent history in Vietnam and one of the largest cases of financial corruption in Asia, as it exceeds the 4.5 billion dollars diverted in the 1MDB financial scandal for which former Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was sentenced to 12 years in prison.