Vietnamese tycoon facing death sentence scrambles to repay fraud billions

Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan is pushing to return hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen funds as she fights for her life in court. Lan, who was sentenced to death in Vietnam’s largest-ever fraud case, is making a last-ditch attempt to repay a significant portion of the embezzled money to reduce her sentence.

Giang Hong Thanh, Lan’s lawyer, says that her team is working on first repaying investors and then funds related to her death sentence. She has asked the prosecution to get back more than 15 trillion dong ($585 million) in bond profits from banks and has started selling off property. 

“She started working on this right after the first trial on the bond case,” Thanh stated.

Truong Lan was born in Ho Chi Minh City into a Chinese and Vietnamese family. She started her work selling cosmetics at a market stand with her mother. In 1986, when Vietnam’s Communist Party made changes to the economy, she was able to get into the real estate market and her luck changed. 

By the 1990s, she had built a substantial portfolio of hotels and restaurants. Lan was arrested back in April 2024 while holding the head position at the real estate company Van Thinh Phat Group.

Tycoon Lan working to escape death sentence

Vietnamese law allows Lan to plead her case against execution if at least three-quarters of the embezzled assets are returned. Prosecutors estimate that Lan’s total fraud amounted to $11 billion.

The 68-year-old real estate mogul was sentenced to death in April 2024 after being found guilty of embezzling $12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB). 

The fraud scheme was carried out over a decade, from 2012 to 2022, through fraudulent loan applications that drained the bank’s reserves. 

State media sources cited by Bloomberg reported that these loans accounted for 93% of SCB’s total credit issuance, leading thousands of investors to incur financial losses.

Although Lan did not hold an official executive position at SCB, the court found that she controlled 91.5% of the bank’s shares through an intricate network of family members, friends, and shell companies. 

Her business empire, Van Thinh Phat, includes luxury housing developments, a shopping mall, and a harbor in Ho Chi Minh City.

Government response to Lan’s activities

According to Reuters, Vietnam’s central bank injected approximately $24 billion in “special loans” to stabilize SCB after the fraud was uncovered. The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) went a step further from its plans, pouring $26 billion into the bank with the promise that it would be repaid in 15 years, as reported by the publication on March 9.

Prosecutors stated that while Lan was convicted of embezzling $12.5 billion, the total damages were estimated at $27 billion, equivalent to around 6% of Vietnam’s GDP in 2023.

Lan was put on trial in Vietnam with 85 other people. The list included former central bank officials, government officials, and SCB chiefs. Since then, the government has stepped up its fight against corruption. Financial fraud is now being punished in several sectors.

In addition, she has been found guilty of laundering about 446 trillion dong in stolen goods and plundering 30 trillion dong from clients through fake bond sales.

Lan has asked the court to be more “lenient” as she challenges her death sentence. Local news sources say that the judges have maintained their decision, saying that her crimes have very bad results. In addition, there are no mitigating factors that meant she should get a lighter sentence.

In preparation for her appeal, her legal team has grown by four more lawyers entering the case. On top of that, 27 co-defendants have also asked for lighter punishments. The appeal meeting began on Tuesday and will probably go on until April 21.

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