Current:Home > MyVietnam sentences real estate tycoon Truong My Lan to death in its largest-ever fraud case -Excel Money Vision
Vietnam sentences real estate tycoon Truong My Lan to death in its largest-ever fraud case
View
Date:2025-04-24 18:22:26
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced Thursday to death by a court in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam in the country’s largest financial fraud case ever, state media Vietnam Net said.
The 67-year-old chair of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat was formally charged with fraud amounting to $12.5 billion — nearly 3% of the country’s 2022 GDP.
Lan illegally controlled Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank between 2012 and 2022 and allowed 2,500 loans that resulted in losses of $27 billion to the bank, reported state media VnExpress. The court asked her to compensate the bank $26.9 million.
Despite mitigating circumstances — this was a first-time offense and Lan participated in charity activities — the court attributed its harsh sentence to the seriousness of the case, saying Lan was at the helm of an orchestrated and sophisticated criminal enterprise that had serious consequences with no possibility of the money being recovered, VnExpress said.
Her actions “not only violate the property management rights of individuals and organizations but also push SCB (Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank) into a state of special control; eroding people’s trust in the leadership of the Party and State,” VnExpress quoted the judgement as saying.
Her niece, Truong Hue Van, the chief executive of Van Thinh Phat, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for aiding her aunt.
Lan and her family established the Van Thing Phat company in 1992 after Vietnam shed its state-run economy in favor of a more market-oriented approach that was open to foreigners. She had started out helping her mother, a Chinese businesswoman, to sell cosmetics in Ho Chi Minh City’s oldest market, according to state media Tien Phong.
Van Thinh Phat would grow to become one of Vietnam’s richest real estate firms, with projects including luxury residential buildings, offices, hotels and shopping centers. This made her a key player in the country’s financial industry. She orchestrated the 2011 merger of the beleaguered SCB bank with two other lenders in coordination with Vietnam’s central bank.
The court found that she used this approach to tap SCB for cash. She indirectly owned more than 90% of the bank — a charge she denied — and approved thousands of loans to “ghost companies,” according to government documents. These loans then found their way back to her, state media VNExpress reported, citing the court’s findings.
She then bribed officials to cover her tracks, it added.
Former central bank official Do Thi Nhan was also sentenced Thursday to life in prison for accepting $5.2 million in bribes.
Lan’s arrest in October 2022 was among the most high-profile in an ongoing anti-corruption drive in Vietnam that has intensified since 2022. The so-called Blazing Furnace campaign has touched the highest echelons of Vietnamese politics. Former President Vo Van Thuong resigned in March after being implicated in the campaign.
But Lan’s trial shocked the nation. Analysts said the scale of the scam raised questions about whether other banks or businesses had similarly erred, dampening Vietnam’s economic outlook and making foreign investors jittery at a time when Vietnam has been trying to position itself as the ideal home for businesses trying to pivot their supply chains away from China.
The real estate sector in Vietnam has been hit particularly hard. An estimated 1,300 property firms withdrew from the market in 2023, developers have been offering discounts and gold as gifts to attract buyers, and despite rents for shophouses falling by a third in Ho Chi Minh City, many in the city center are still empty, according to state media.
In November, Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s top politician, said that the anti-corruption fight would “continue for the long term.”
veryGood! (452)
Related
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Mega Millions lottery jackpot up to 6th largest ever: What to know about $687 million drawing
- Justin Timberlake announces free, one night concert in Los Angeles: How to get tickets
- 'Survivor' season 46: Who was voted off and why was there a Taylor Swift, Metallica battle
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Mississippi Supreme Court affirms a death row inmate’s convictions in the killings of 8 people
- Margaret Qualley to Star as Amanda Knox in New Hulu Series
- New York library won't let man with autism use children's room. His family called the restriction 'callous'
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- See Who Is Attending the Love Is Blind Season Six Reunion
Ranking
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- Women's basketball needs faces of future to be Black. Enter JuJu Watkins and Hannah Hidalgo
- Alabama lawmakers have approved a school choice program
- Here's how much you need to earn to live comfortably in major U.S. cities
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- State AGs send letter to Meta asking it to take ‘immediate action’ on user account takeovers
- Daylight saving time can wreak havoc on kids’ sleep schedules: How to help them adjust
- Horoscopes Today, March 7, 2024
Recommendation
New Mexico governor seeks funding to recycle fracking water, expand preschool, treat mental health
New Mexico ranks last when it comes to education. Will a mandatory 180 days in the classroom help?
Jake Paul will fight Mike Tyson at 80,000-seat AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys
BBC Scotland's Nick Sheridan Dead at 32
San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
Houston police chief apologizes for department not investigating 264K cases due to staffing issues
Houston police chief apologizes for department not investigating 264K cases due to staffing issues
'Princess Bride' actor Cary Elwes was victim of theft, sheriffs say