New Delhi:
These days, the Vietnamese real estate tycoon is at the center of the biggest bank scam in global history. Vietnamese business tycoon Truong Mai Lan, 68, has lost an appeal against his death sentence for masterminding the world’s biggest bank fraud. If seen, the 68 year old female business tycoon is struggling to escape from her hanging. According to Vietnamese law, his sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment if he repays 75 percent of the stolen amount. Despite her recent plea for leniency, Lan is still fighting to repay the $9 billion (about Rs 28,000 crore) she owes.
The 68-year-old business tycoon has lost his appeal against the death penalty, with the court finding no grounds for leniency, the BBC reports. The court has said that we are acting according to the Constitution. Now Truong Mai Lan will have to deposit 70 percent of the amount. Under Vietnamese law, $9 billion (over Rs 28,000 crore) – 75% of the embezzled amount – would have to be returned in order to reduce the life sentence.
understand the gist of the story
- Truong Mai Lan is a Vietnamese real estate tycoon who has been sentenced to death in the country’s largest ever financial fraud case: Truong Mai Lan is accused of a $12.5 billion fraud. This is about 3% of the country’s 2022 GDP. Lan and his associates are accused of illegally controlling and lending to a major bank.
- Lan had ordered the creation of 2,527 fake loan records.
- Lan and his associates had appointed their relatives to key positions in the bank.
- Lan had built a vast network under the patronage of Van Thinh Phat.
- Lan was arrested in October 2022.
- Lan has appealed against the death sentence.
- Lan’s lawyer has said that he hopes the court will give him a chance to live so that he can repay all his debts.
understand the whole story
Truong, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group and one of Vietnam’s wealthiest celebrities, was convicted earlier this year of having secret control over Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), the BBC reports. Which was the fifth largest lender in the country. He said they ran a web of fraudulent transactions through shell companies for more than a decade, misappropriating $27 billion and embezzling $12 billion.
court response
The court said Truong Mai Lan has the right to file a pardon petition with the President within seven days of the decision taking effect. If she shows active cooperation and compensates for 75% of the damage, her death sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment, state news outlet VietnamNet reported.
Who is Truong Mai Lan?
According to the BBC report, Truong, born to a Sino-Vietnamese family in Ho Chi Minh City, started her career selling cosmetics in a market. Following Vietnam’s economic reforms in 1986, he ventured into real estate and built a portfolio of luxury hotels, restaurants and properties. His success was a symbol of Vietnam’s emerging capitalist class – until his empire began to collapse.
- Truong Mai Lan emerged as one of the most prominent individuals targeted in the Vietnamese government’s aggressive “Blazing Furnace” anti-corruption initiative, under which various officials and politicians were charged with corruption.
- According to reports, between 2012 and 2022, Truong will be attacked by S.C.B. was accused of operating illegally, administering approximately 2,500 fraudulent loans, causing financial losses of $27 billion to the institution.
This fraud not only shook Vietnam’s banking sector but also caused huge losses to the country’s entire economy. According to media reports, this incident occurred at a time when Vietnam was making efforts to boost its domestic business prospects and reduce dependence on China, but it also made foreign investors uneasy.
courtroom drama
In April, Truong was sentenced to death, making her one of the few women in Vietnam to receive such a sentence for a white-collar crime. During the appeal hearing, as reported by the media, he expressed remorse, admitting shame over the loss caused to the state. However, the court rejected his appeal, citing the unprecedented nature of his crimes.
- According to the report, Truong’s legal team argued that although his net worth exceeds the $9 billion required to commute his sentence to life imprisonment, selling them is complicated. Many of his holdings are in luxury real estate or tied up in business ventures that take time to wind down.
- Hearing the case on December 3, the High People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City ruled in favor of Truong Mai Lan and 47 co-defendants, VietnamNet reported.
- While the court partially granted Truong’s appeal for leniency, and reduced his sentence from 20 years to 16 years on charges of “violating regulations on lending activities in credit institutions”, it also reduced his sentence to “embezzlement of assets”. upheld the death penalty on the charge of bribery and upheld a 20-year sentence on the charge of “bribery”. After combining the sentences, the court sentenced Truong Mai Lan to death to be confirmed.
Truong’s case has reignited debate about the use of the death penalty in Vietnam, particularly for financial crimes. The country has one of the highest executions in the world, although the exact figures are a state secret. Human rights groups estimate that more than 1,000 people are on death row, with sentences often taking years to complete.
