Tycoon sentenced to death

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.