HANOI, DEC 3 – The death sentence of real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was confirmed today in Vietnam’s biggest fraud case, the scope of which has raised concerns about the country’s economy.
He was convicted in April on charges of breach of trust and corruption in connection with a fraud amounting to $12.5 billion, nearly 3 percent of Vietnam’s GDP in 2022. As chairman of real estate firm Van Thinh Phat, Lan illegally controlled the Saigon Commercial Bank of Shares between 2012 and 2022 and sanctioned 2,500 loans that cost the bank $27 billion.
A court in Ho Chi Minh rejected his appeal against the conviction, adding that his death sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment if he paid back three-quarters of the losses, VN Express reported. The court said that the violations committed by him had a negative impact on the banking sector, caused public unrest and damaged public trust, according to national media reports.
His arrest is one of the most high-profile in Vietnam’s intensifying anti-corruption drive after 2022. The Blazing Furnace campaign touches the highest echelons of Vietnamese politics. However, the scale of the fraud has shocked the country with analysts raising questions about whether other banks or businesses have made similar mistakes.
This has dampened Vietnam’s economic outlook and left foreign investors feeling uneasy at a time when Vietnam is trying to position itself as a place for businesses to shift their supply chains away from China. – AP
