Vietnamese tycoon loses death row appeal over world's biggest bank fraud

Truong My Lan, a prominent Vietnamese property tycoon, has recently faced a significant legal setback as she lost her appeal against a death sentence for orchestrating what is considered the largest bank fraud in history. At 68 years old, Truong My Lan is now in a desperate situation, as Vietnamese law stipulates that if she can repay 75% of the funds she misappropriated, her death sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment. In April, it was revealed that she had secretly controlled the Saigon Commercial Bank, which ranks as the fifth largest bank in Vietnam. Over a span of more than a decade, she managed to extract loans and cash through a complex network of shell companies, amassing a staggering total of 44 billion dollars. Prosecutors assert that out of this amount, 27 billion dollars was misappropriated, while 12 billion dollars was deemed embezzled, leading to her death sentence for the most severe financial crime. This verdict is particularly shocking, as Truong My Lan is one of the very few women in Vietnam to receive a death sentence for a white-collar crime. On Tuesday, the court announced that there were no grounds to lessen her death sentence. However, she still has a chance to avoid execution if she can return 9 billion dollars, which constitutes three-quarters of the 12 billion dollars she embezzled. This is not her final opportunity, as she can still appeal to the president for clemency. During her trial, Truong My Lan displayed moments of defiance, but in the recent hearings for her appeal, she appeared more remorseful. She expressed embarrassment for being a burden on the state and emphasized that her primary focus was to repay the money she had taken. Truong My Lan was sentenced to death earlier this year. Born into a Sino-Vietnamese family in Ho Chi Minh City, she began her career as a market vendor, selling cosmetics alongside her mother. Following the economic reforms introduced by the Communist Party in 1986, she began acquiring land and properties. By the 1990s, she had built a substantial portfolio of hotels and restaurants. At the time of her conviction and sentencing in April, she held the position of chairwoman at the Van Thinh Phat Group, a well-known real estate firm. This case marked a dramatic moment in the anti-corruption campaign led by the then-Communist Party Secretary-General, Nguyen Phu Trong. All 85 other defendants in the case were also convicted, with four receiving life sentences, while the remaining individuals, including Truong My Lan's husband and niece, were handed prison terms ranging from 20 years to three years suspended. The State Bank of Vietnam is believed to have invested billions of dollars to recapitalize Saigon Commercial Bank to prevent a broader banking crisis. Prosecutors argued that the scale of her crimes was unprecedented and did not warrant any leniency. Truong My Lan's legal team contended that she was making every effort to secure the 9 billion dollars needed for repayment. However, liquidating her assets has proven to be a challenging task. Some of her assets consist of luxury properties in Ho Chi Minh City that could potentially be sold quickly, while others are tied up in shares or stakes in various businesses and property projects. Authorities have identified over a thousand different assets linked to the fraud, but these have been frozen for the time being. Reports indicate that Truong My Lan has also reached out to friends for loans to help her meet the repayment target. Her lawyers have argued for leniency based on financial grounds, stating that while she is under a death sentence, it would be difficult for her to negotiate favorable prices for her assets, making it harder to raise the necessary 9 billion dollars. They believe that she would have a better chance of achieving this if she were serving a life sentence instead. Nguyen Huy Thiep, one of her lawyers, informed the BBC before her appeal was denied that the total value of her holdings actually exceeds the amount required for compensation. However, selling these assets requires time and effort, particularly since many of them are real estate properties that take time to liquidate. Truong My Lan hopes that the court can create the most favorable conditions for her to continue making repayments. Few observers expected the judges to be swayed by these arguments. She is now, in effect, racing against time to gather the funds she needs to save her life. In Vietnam, the death penalty is treated as a state secret, and the government does not disclose how many individuals are on death row. However, human rights organizations estimate that there are over 1,000 people facing execution, making Vietnam one of the countries with the highest rates of capital punishment. Typically, there are long delays, often spanning many years, before sentences are carried out, although prisoners receive very little notice. If Truong My Lan can manage to recover the 9 billion dollars before her execution takes place, her life will likely be spared.