In a landmark ruling, Trong My Lan, a Vietnamese billionaire and real estate tycoon, has been sentenced to death by the People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City. The 67-year-old president of Van Thinh Phat, a real estate company, was found guilty of bribery, violation of bank policy, and embezzlement.
According to the BBC, Lan is accused of defrauding Saigon Commercial Bank, one of Vietnam’s largest banks, of $27 billion over an 11-year period. Prosecutors claim that Lan borrowed $44 billion from the bank, but will struggle to repay $27 billion.
The case has affected 42,000 victims, making it the largest scam in the country’s history. As part of the investigation, prosecutors have seized 1,000 assets linked to Lan.
The case involved the statements of 2,700 individuals, with ten prosecutors and approximately 200 lawyers participating. The evidence against Lan, which weighed six tons, was stored in 104 boxes.
Lan, a native of Ho Chi Minh City, began her business career selling cosmetics with her mother. She expanded into real estate in 1986 and had constructed numerous hotels and restaurants by 1990.
By 2011, Lan had become a prominent business figure. She consolidated three smaller banks to create Saigon Commercial Bank. However, she violated Vietnamese law, which stipulates that no individual can own more than 5% of a bank’s shares. Prosecutors allege that she established hundreds of fictitious companies and individuals to acquire more than 90% of the bank’s shares in her name.
Lan is accused of using her influence to appoint her own people as managers and to issue loans to her companies. Since February 2019, she allegedly compelled her drivers to withdraw 108 trillion Vietnamese dong (US$4 billion) in cash and concealed it in her basement.
She is also accused of bribing various individuals to evade investigation, including allegedly giving US$5 million to the Chief Inspector of the Central Bank. This case serves as a stark reminder of the potential consequences of financial fraud and corruption.
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