Vietnam millionaire Truong My Lan Sentenced To Death Over $12.5 Billion Scam

TRUONG My Lan, a Vietnamese real estate mogul, received a death sentence for fraud.

On Thursday, April 11, 2024, a court in Ho Chi Minh City, southern Vietnam, condemned Lan to death in the largest-ever financial fraud case in the nation's history.

Nearly 3% of the nation's 2022 GDP, or $12.5 billion, was allegedly embezzled by the 67-year-old chair of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat.

Between 2012 and 2022, she illegally managed the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank, funneling monies through thousands of fictitious businesses and bribing public officials.

Among the most well-known arrests in Vietnam's ongoing campaign against corruption, which has been stronger since 2022, was Lan's in October 2022. The highest levels of Vietnamese politics have been impacted by the so-called Blazing Furnace campaign. Following his involvement in the campaign, former president Bo Van Thuong announced his resignation in March.

What has startled the country, though, is the scope of Lan's trial. Among the wealthiest real estate companies in Vietnam, VTP completed projects involving opulent homes, workplaces, hotels, and shopping malls.

Vietnam's real estate market has been especially badly hit: Although rent for shophouses in Ho Chi Minh City has dropped by a third, developers have been luring purchasers with discounts and gold presents. In 2023, an estimated 1,300 real estate companies left the market.

Vietnam's real estate market has been especially badly hit: In 2023, an estimated 1,300 real estate companies left the market; developers have been luring buyers with discounts and gold gifts; and state media reports that even though shophouse rents in Ho Chi Minh City have dropped by a third, many of the city's center properties remain unoccupied.

Vietnam's leading leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Communist Party, declared in November that the campaign against corruption would “continue for the long term.”