bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Truong My Lan, the 68-year-old real estate tycoon at the centre of Vietnam’s largest-ever fraud scandal, saw her death sentence upheld by a court on Tuesday.
The ex-chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group was convicted in April after being found guilty of orchestrating a scheme that used hundreds of ghost companies to gain control of the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), siphoning off an estimated US$12.5 billion from the lender.
But total damages caused by the fraud may have hit US$27 billion, according to prosecutors, leaving tens of thousands of ordinary citizens stripped of their life savings that were tied up in the bank and her real estate company.
Arrested in 2022, Lan was also found guilty of bribing state officials and money laundering.
The scandal was so large that it undermined faith in the country’s banking sector and forced Vietnam’s central bank to prop up SCB, which had bankrolled Lan through a web of nominee companies for over a decade.
Prosecutors argued that, despite holding only 5 per cent of the bank’s shares on paper, Lan had effectively become its sole controller.


During her weeks-long appeal hearing, prosecutors told the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City that any commutation of Lan’s death sentence should depend upon her repaying a significant portion of the stolen billions.
However, the court on Tuesday upheld her death sentence after determining there was “no basis” to reduce her sentence.
In her final plea to the court, Lan expressed doubt about surviving long enough to complete her prison sentence, even if it was reduced to 20 years.
“I have changed … please reconsider,” she implored, as reported by state media outlet VTC News.
Lan’s remaining options for avoiding execution are appealing to Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong or repaying three-quarters of the defrauded amount, which may allow her sentence to be reduced to life imprisonment.
She earlier described the death penalty as “too severe and harsh” for her crimes.
Her husband, Hong Kong investor Eric Chu Nap-kee, sat beside her in court. He is appealing his own nine-year jail sentence for violating banking regulations.
The couple had previously invested heavily in Hong Kong real estate during the mid-2000s. But as their legal troubles mounted, Chu was forced to liquidate several assets, including a hotel in Tin Hau and luxury flats in Quarry Bay.
The fallout from Lan’s fraud shed light on the alarming level of corruption within Vietnam’s financial sector, shaking investor confidence and prompting interventions from the central bank.
Her case also highlights the depth of the ongoing “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign led by Communist Party officials, which has already claimed the scalps of two presidents and a pair of deputy prime ministers.
In an unusual move, Vietnamese authorities allowed open access to Lan’s court proceedings, providing a rare glimpse into the corruption at the top of the nation’s political and business elite.

Throughout the trial, the court heard that Lan had masterminded the merger of SCB with two other banks, exploiting the opportunity to funnel billions into her own accounts and shell companies.
Before her downfall, Lan’s journey was a remarkable rags-to-riches tale, beginning at age 16 selling cosmetics at a street market. After meeting Chu, the pair went on to build a business empire that began with restaurants and expanded into real estate, leading to the establishment of the Van Thinh Phat Group in 1991, which quickly expanded into tower blocks and commercial properties.
Victims of her fraud include Le Hang, 83, who invested over half a million US dollars in SCB bonds, pressured by bank representatives.
Despite feeling “crushed” by the loss, she expressed no desire for Lan to face the death penalty.
“There’s an old saying: ‘if the rabbit dies, even the fox grieves.’ Why would I want to see her die?” she said. “It’s OK if she is sent to prison as a punishment, but I don’t want her to die. I gain nothing from her death.
“I hope the government would make her repay the money to help the victims. She owned so many assets.”


Singapore, Vietnam eye undersea cable link as US flags risks of choosing Chinese contractors

China’s Wang Yi calls for progress with Vietnam on South China Sea cooperation

Phu Quoc, Vietnam for designer resorts and attractions that include … a town on the Med?

South China Sea: Vietnam reef projects and runway may set scene for conflict with Beijing

Vietnam

Vietnam upholds Truong My Lan’s death sentence over US$12 billion fraud

Truong My Lan attends her trial at the People’s High Court of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Tuesday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The SCB logo is seen in front of a building under construction in Ho Chi Minh City last year. Photo: Reuters

Vietnam’s aircraft deal with US reflects closer ties – is China ‘not happy’?

US President Joe Biden shakes hands with Vietnam’s President Luong Cuong at the APEC summit in Lima on November 15. Photo: AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Chairman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Vuong Dinh Hue in Beijing in April. Photo: EPA-EFE

Vietnam People’s Air Force’s Russian-origin Su-30MK2 fighter planes undertake drills in Hanoi. Photo: EPA-EFE

The USS Ronald Reagan nuclear-powered aircraft carrier pulls into port in Danang in June last year. Photo: AFP

A man reads a Vietnamese newspaper in Hanoi on the re-election of US president-elect Donald Trump. Photo: AFP

How Asean anchors Vietnam’s diplomatic dance between China and the West

An honour guard raises an Asean flag outside the foreign ministry in Hanoi on August 8 to mark the 29th anniversary of Vietnam’s accession to the bloc. Photo: EPA-EFE

A member of the Philippines’ coastguard and a Vietnamese coastguard vessel both fire water cannons during joint drills near Manila Bay, the Philippines, on August 9. Photo: EPA-EFE

Vietnam’s deputy foreign minister Do Hung Viet (left) embraces Laos’ top diplomat at an Asean foreign ministers’ meeting in Vientiane last month. Photo: AFP

Vietnam’s Do Hung Viet interacts with Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong at the Asean ministers’ meeting in Laos last month. Photo: Reuters

Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan sentenced to death in US$12.5 billion fraud case

Truong My Lan (centre), chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings, sits during her trial at the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Thursday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Businesswoman Truong My Lan during her trial in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Thursday. Photo: VnExpress via AP

Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan (front row, third from left) looks on during a court trial in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. Photo: AFP

A logo of Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) is seen in front of an under-construction building in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in November 2023. Photo: Reuters

Who is Truong My Lan? From market stall to Vietnam’s biggest fraud case, the rise and fall of an alleged scam mastermind

Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan is escorted into a courtroom in Ho Chi Minh city,  on March 5. Photo: AP

Members of the media take photographs and video footage of court proceedings involving Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings on March 5. Photo: Bloomberg

This Week in Asia

People

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

A court on Tuesday upheld the sentence after rejecting Truong My Lan’s appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery


A court on Tuesday upheld the sentence after rejecting Truong My Lan’s appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery.


Crime

Corruption in Asia