Truong My Lan Gets Death Sentence: Why Vietnam Billionaire Was Awarded Capital Punishment

Truong My Lan Capital Punishment: Vietnam Billionaire Truong My Lan was sentenced to death by a Vietnamese court in Ho Chi Minh City on April 11 in the country's largest financial fraud case ever amounting to USD 12.5 Billion, nearly 3 per cent of the country's 2022 GDP. The 67-year-old business tycoon, chairwoman of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat was asked to compensate Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank USD 26.9 million.

Truong My Lan had pleaded not guilty to the embezzlement and bribery charges, one of Lan's lawyers, Nguyen Huy Thiep, told Reuters. According to the charges the Vietnam billionaire illegally controlled Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank between 2012 and 2022 and allowed 2,500 loans that resulted in losses of USD 27 billion to the bank, reported state media VnExpress.

Why Was Truong My Lan Awarded The Capital Punishment?

Truong My Lan's trial began on March 5 and ended in a death sentence, even though the Vietnam billionaire engaged in charity activities and was a first-time offender, the court ruled that capital punishment was awarded due to the seriousness of the case, observing that the 67-year-old was the main culprit in orchestrating the sophisticated criminal enterprise that had serious consequences with no possibility of the money being recovered.

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In the judgement, the court said that Truong My Lan's 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."

Besides Truong My Lan, her niece Truong Hue Van, the chief executive of Van Thinh Phat, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for aiding her aunt.

Defendents attend a trial for their involvement in the USD 12.5 billion fraud case. (Photo credit :AP)

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. 

Who Is Truong My Lan?

Truong My Lan was born in 1956 and started out helping sell cosmetics with her mother, a Chinese businesswoman, in Ho Chi Minh city's oldest market, according to state media Tien Phong. 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.

Even though there are no current reports stating Truong My Lan's net worth as per a report by The Sun, a representative for Lan's family said that the value of their assets was about $30 billion.

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 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.

(With agency inputs)