Sentenced for financial fraud

Entrepreneur sentenced to death in Vietnam

Real estate entrepreneur Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for allegedly diverting large sums of money.(Bild: AFP)

In Vietnam, a real estate entrepreneur has been sentenced to death for her role in a financial fraud case. Truong My Lan is accused of embezzlement, bribery and violating banking regulations. The case involves the equivalent of more than eleven billion euros.

Lan, who was sentenced to death, is the CEO of the real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group. Before the verdict was announced, a family member announced that the Vietnamese woman would appeal. It has now been announced that they will continue to fight. According to the newspaper "Thanh Nien", 84 people have already been sentenced to prison terms ranging from three years' probation to life imprisonment in the case.

The trial in the country's largest fraud case began on March 5.(Bild: VNA)

It is the largest fraud case in the country. Lan and her accomplices are accused of diverting more than 304 trillion dong (equivalent to 11.3 billion euros) from the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB). From the beginning of 2018 to October 2022, Lan is alleged to have appropriated large sums of money by illegally brokering loans to shell companies. At the time, the state had just bailed out the bank.

Business manager forced to resign
The trial began on March 5 and ended earlier than planned. It is part of the fight against corruption that the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, has been promising for years. So far, hundreds of high-ranking civil servants and important economic managers have been prosecuted or forced to resign. Otherwise, there have been few tangible results.