Eleven YEARS later
Vietnamese Billionaire Sentenced To Death After Reportedly Embezzling $44B
Property developer Truong My Lan was sentenced to death, an unusual punishment for women involved in white-collar crime in Vietnam.
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The Lede
Lan, a 67-year-old Vietnamese property developer has been convicted of orchestrating one of Vietnam's largest bank frauds ever. Prosecutors allege she acquired billions in loans from Saigon Commercial Bank through fraudulent means. At one point, she allegedly controlled over 90 percent of the Saigon Commercial Bank shares, through shell companies and proxies. Vietnamese law allows for a maximum five percent share ownership. Lan has now been ordered to return $27B, although prosecutors doubt its recovery.
Key Details
- Lan's ascent from a market stall vendor to a wealthy property developer began during Vietnam's economic reform period, known as Doi Moi, starting in 1986.
- The trial was part of the "Blazing Furnaces" anti-corruption campaign led by Communist Party Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong, aimed at tackling widespread corruption in Vietnam.
- The trial also underscores the Communist Party's efforts to combat corruption and its aspirations for economic growth, which do rely on some degree of corruption to function.