Alleged linchpin: Lan being escorted by security officers at a court in Ho Chi Minh City. — AFP
A top property tycoon was sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27bil (RM128.1bil) in damages.
A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defence arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade.
“The defendant’s actions... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the (Communist) Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in southern business hub Ho Chi Minh City.
Lan denied the charges and blamed her subordinates.
After a five-week trial, 85 others also face verdicts and sentencing on charges ranging from bribery and abuse of power to appropriation and violations of banking law.
Lan embezzled US$12.5bil (RM59.3bil), but prosecutors said the total damages caused by the scam now amounted to US$27bil – a figure equivalent to 6% of the country’s 2023 GDP.
The death sentence is an unusually severe punishment in such a case.
She and the others were arrested as part of a national corruption crackdown that has swept up numerous officials and members of Vietnam’s business elite in recent years.
Lan appeared to say in final remarks to the court last week that she had thoughts of suicide.
“In my desperation, I thought of death,” she said, according to state media.
“I am so angry that I was stupid enough to get involved in this very fierce business environment – the banking sector – which I have little knowledge of.”
Police have identified around 42,000 victims of the scandal, which has shocked the country.
Lan, who is married to a wealthy Hong Kong businessman also on trial, was accused of setting up fake loan applications to withdraw money from SCB, in which she owned a 90% stake.
Police say the scam’s victims are all SCB bondholders who cannot withdraw their money and have not received interest or principal payments since Lan’s arrest.
Prosecutors said during the trial they had seized more than 1,000 properties belonging to Lan.
Authorities have also said US$5.2mil (RM24.6mil) allegedly given by Lan and some SCB bankers to state officials to conceal the bank’s violations and poor financial situation was the largest-ever bribe recorded in Vietnam. — AFP
