A court in Vietnam has upheld a death sentence for real estate tycoon Truong My Lan after rejecting her appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery in a high-profile $12 billion fraud case. Lan, the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was sentenced to death in April for her role in Vietnam’s biggest financial fraud case on record.
The High People’s Court in southern Ho Chi Minh City determined there was no basis to reduce Lan’s death sentence. If Lan is able to return three-quarters of the money embezzled while on death row, it is possible the sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment.
Lan is one of the most famous business executives and state officials jailed in the communist country’s lengthy anti-graft campaign known as “Blazing Furnace.” The prosecution highlighted the unprecedented consequences of Lan's actions on society, the financial market, and the economy.
Despite Lan's lawyer citing mitigating circumstances such as admitting guilt, showing remorse, and partial repayment of embezzled funds, prosecutors deemed it insufficient. Lan still has the right to request a review under Vietnam’s cassation or retrial procedures.
Lan’s arrest in 2022 led to a run on one of the country’s largest private banks, Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), largely owned by Lan through her proxies. Vietnam’s central bank had pumped $24 billion in “special loans” into SCB as part of an unprecedented rescue operation.
In addition to the death sentence, Lan was handed a life sentence at a separate trial in October for charges including obtaining property by fraud, money laundering, and illegal cross-border money transfers.
