12-12-2024 (HANOI) In a dramatic development within Vietnam’s largest-ever financial scandal, embattled property mogul Truong My Lan has launched a fresh legal challenge against her life imprisonment sentence, state media reported today. This appeal follows mere days after the 68-year-old businesswoman failed to overturn her death sentence in a separate case involving astronomical fraud.
The real estate tycoon, who was handed a life term in October for multiple financial crimes, is contesting convictions related to money laundering operations worth $17.7 billion, illicit cross-border cash movements totalling $4.5 billion, and bond fraud amounting to roughly $1.2 billion.
This latest legal manoeuvre comes on the heels of last week’s unsuccessful attempt to appeal her death sentence, which was imposed in April for her role in orchestrating a massive $27 billion fraud scheme through Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB). The court maintained its original ruling but offered a potential reprieve from capital punishment should she return 75% of the misappropriated assets.
The unprecedented scale of the financial misconduct has sent shockwaves through Vietnamese society, triggering unusual public demonstrations by affected depositors who lost their life savings in the scheme. Whilst officially holding just 5% of SCB’s shares, investigators determined that Lan effectively commanded over 90% of the bank through an intricate network of family members, associates, and employees.
The gravity of the case was further underscored when the court branded Lan as “the mastermind” who deployed “sophisticated methods” repeatedly, resulting in “especially serious consequences” for the nation’s financial system. The total damage inflicted by her fraudulent activities represents approximately 6% of Vietnam’s projected 2023 GDP.
In a related development, 28 of the 33 co-defendants sentenced alongside Lan have also filed appeals against their prison terms, which range from two to 23 years. The case has already claimed several high-profile casualties, including a former State Bank chief inspector who received a life sentence in April for accepting a $5 million bribe to disregard SCB’s financial irregularities.
