Vietnam court upholds death sentence for tycoon in billion-dollar fraud case
It says a commutation could be considered during the execution of the verdict
[HO CHI MINH CITY] The High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday (Dec 3) rejected Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan’s appeal against her death sentence after a month-long trial, state media reported.
Judges said that there were no grounds to reduce her sentences for embezzlement and bribery, which were handed down in April for her role as the mastermind behind Vietnam’s largest fraud case that caused “extremely serious consequences”.
Her crimes led to losses totalling 677 trillion dong (S$35.9 billion) at Vietnamese private lender Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over the course of a decade – equivalent to about 6 per cent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product in 2022.
However, if a convicted felon recompenses three-fourths of the losses they caused during the execution of the verdict, the jury said that a commutation from the death sentence to life in prison could be considered according to the law.
The court ruled in April that Lan, the former chairperson of the real estate empire Van Thinh Phat, must compensate SCB a total of 674 trillion dong – an amount Lan committed to repay “at all costs”.
The tycoon said that, besides the assets confiscated by the authorities, she is willing to execute her financial penalty by tapping her other 658 distrained assets that have not been utilised to secure any loans. Lan believes that with a fair valuation, she could fulfil the compensation with just 10 per cent of her total wealth.
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Her lawyers also disclosed during the appeal trial that Malaysian tycoon Vincent Tan of Berjaya Corporation and other foreign investors had intended to purchase Lan’s assets or provide the necessary capital to help Lan settle part of her hefty debts.
Under the latest judgment, the court accepted a reduction to the punishment for Lan violating banking regulations, from 20 years in prison to 16 years, although the ultimate sentence for all of her crimes remains the death penalty.
Judges also approved commutation for some other defendants, including Lan’s husband, Hong Kong businessman Eric Chu and her niece, Truong Hue Van.
In a separate trial in October, Lan received a life sentence for the additional charges of fraudulent appropriation of assets through bond issuances, moving money across borders illegally and money laundering.
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