Truong My Lan, 68, a powerful Vietnamese real estate tycoon, was sentenced to death for orchestrating the world’s largest bank fraud, but lost on appeal. The 68-year-old has been fighting to avoid the death penalty. Vietnamese law states that her sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if she repays 75 percent of the stolen money. Despite recently seeking extenuating circumstances, Ms. Lan is in a race against time to pay back $9 billion, three-quarters of the $12 billion she was found to have embezzled.
Where it all began for Truong My Lan
According to the BBC, Truong My Lan’s journey from market vendor to one of Vietnam’s most powerful men began in Ho Chi Minh City, where she sold cosmetics with her mother. She took advantage of the economic reforms of 1986 to expand her business, and by the 1990s had amassed a substantial real estate portfolio, including hotels and restaurants. By the time she became chairman of Van Tinh Phat Group, her real estate empire was vast and she had great influence in the field.
scam
Truong My Lan’s misconduct was exposed after his arrest in October 2022. Prosecutors revealed that she secretly controlled Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), the country’s fifth-largest lender. From 2012 to 2022, Lan orchestrated a vast financial scheme involving bogus loan applications using numerous shell companies and third parties. The scheme allowed her to siphon off an estimated $12.5 billion. Prosecutors estimate that total losses from the fraud could reach US$27 billion, equivalent to nearly 3% of Vietnam’s GDP in 2022. The scam left thousands of ordinary citizens without their life savings and tied up in banks and real estate businesses.
To cover up the fraud, Lan and his co-conspirators, including former bank executives and government officials, allegedly paid $5.2 million in bribes to state officials, the largest recorded bribe in Vietnam’s history.
trial
The trial involved 85 defendants, including Ms Lan’s husband, a Hong Kong businessman, and her niece. Authorities had to secure 105 boxes of evidence weighing more than six tonnes and install surveillance cameras to secure the information. In April 2024, Mr. Lan was sentenced to death for embezzlement, bribery, and violations of banking regulations.
The road ahead
Truong My Lan’s legal team has been working to raise the $9 billion needed to avoid enforcement as she continues to sell assets and seek loans from friends. Despite these efforts, liquidating her holdings, which included luxury real estate and shares in various business ventures, proved difficult. Her lawyers argue that her death sentence hinders her ability to negotiate the best price for her assets and that she would have better prospects if her sentence was reduced to life in prison. .
