Vietnam Court Upholds Death Penalty for Property Tycoon in Multi-Billion Dollar Fraud Case
A Vietnamese court on Tuesday upheld the death penalty for property tycoon Truong My Lan, who was convicted earlier this year of embezzling $27 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), which she was accused of controlling. The court in Ho Chi Minh City ruled that there was “no basis” to reduce the sentence, affirming the death penalty for the 68-year-old businesswoman.
Lan, who founded the real estate development group Van Thinh Phat, had appealed her sentence, describing it as “too severe” and urging the court to consider a more “lenient and humane” approach. In her handwritten appeal, she expressed remorse and requested a reduction in her punishment.
The fraud, which affected tens of thousands of SCB investors, shocked the nation and led to rare protests from the victims. While Vietnamese law allows for the possibility of avoiding the death penalty if the offender returns a significant portion of the embezzled funds and cooperates with authorities, prosecutors argued that Lan had not met the necessary conditions. They stressed that the scale of her crime was “huge and without precedent.”
At the court hearing, Lan, sitting alongside her husband—who is appealing a nine-year sentence for violating banking regulations—was told that her appeal had been rejected. A total of 47 other defendants involved in the case, including senior officials from the central bank, have also sought reduced sentences.
Lan had previously been found guilty of embezzling $12.5 billion during her trial in April, though prosecutors maintained that the full damage amounted to $27 billion, about six percent of Vietnam’s GDP in 2023. In a separate case, Lan was also convicted of money laundering and sentenced to life imprisonment last month.
The case is part of a wider national corruption crackdown in Vietnam, known as the “burning furnace,” which has ensnared several top officials and business leaders. Lan’s assets include a shopping mall, a harbor, and luxurious housing complexes in Ho Chi Minh City.
