Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan has lost her appeal against the death sentence for orchestrating the world’s largest bank fraud.
The 68-year-old faces execution, though under Vietnamese law, her sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment if she repays 75% of the $12 billion she embezzled.
In April, Truong My Lan was found guilty of secretly controlling Saigon Commercial Bank, Vietnam’s fifth-largest lender, and siphoning off a total of $44 billion through a network of shell companies over a decade. Of this, $27 billion was misappropriated and $12 billion embezzled, leading to her death sentence, a rare punishment for a white-collar crime in Vietnam.
The court upheld her death sentence, but offered the possibility of commutation if she returns $9 billion, three-quarters of the embezzled funds. She can still petition for presidential amnesty.
During her trial, Truong My Lan was defiant, but in the appeal, she expressed remorse, stating that her only goal now is to repay the money.
Despite efforts to liquidate her assets, including luxury properties and shares, raising the necessary funds has proven challenging. Her defense argues that a life sentence would allow her to negotiate better deals for her assets.
Her case is part of the broader “Blazing Furnaces” anti-corruption campaign, which saw 85 defendants convicted. Truong My Lan’s husband and niece were also sentenced to prison terms.
“The total value of her holdings actually exceeds the required compensation amount,” lawyer Nguyen Huy Thiep told the BBC before her appeal was rejected.
“However, these require time and effort to sell, as many of the assets are real estate and take time to liquidate. Truong My Lan hopes the court can create the most favourable conditions for her to continue making compensation.”
Few had expected the judges to be moved by these arguments. She is now, in effect, in a race with the executioner to raise the funds she needs.
Vietnam treats the death penalty as a state secret. The government does not publish how many people are on death row, though human rights groups say there are more than 1,000 and that Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest executioners.
Typically, there are long delays, often many years before sentences are carried out, although prisoners are given very little notice.
If Truong My Lan can recover the $9bn before that happens, her life will most likely be spared.
