3% of GDP embezzled

Billionaire fraudster faces death penalty in Vietnam

Truong My Lan in court - she could be sentenced to the death penalty.

(Bild: AFP)

An unprecedented case of embezzlement is currently keeping the judiciary in Vietnam on tenterhooks. The head of a real estate company is accused of defrauding tens of thousands of people of their savings. The case involves the equivalent of 11.4 billion euros, or three percent of Vietnam's gross domestic product. In the biggest financial scandal in the country's history, the death penalty is being demanded for the main defendant.

Truong My Lan was arrested in October 2022 and has been on trial since the beginning of March. The former real estate mogul is not only alleged to have ripped off around 42,000 people, she is also said to have plundered the Saigon Commercial Bank, which she owns 90 percent of. A total of 304 trillion dong is said to have been embezzled.

Main defendant "stubbornly" denies guilt
A total of 85 people have been charged in the financial scandal - eight of them are on the run. Government officials and employees of the central bank are also allegedly involved. Many of the suspects have confessed. According to them, Lan was the head of the gang, but the 67-year-old denies this and claims that subordinates were responsible. The accused is "stubborn" and shows no remorse, reported the state-run newspaper "Tuoi Tre".

Vietnam's biggest financial scandal is being tried in this courtroom.

(Bild: VNA)

Lan is said to have undermined the financial system for over ten years. She used numerous subsidiaries and front companies at home and abroad to obtain loans amounting to tens of billions of dollars. She is said to have diverted a third of this amount with this corporate construct. Newspapers reported that the defendant's chauffeur had transported heaps of cash to her home. 

The headquarters of the Saigon Commercial Bank

(Bild: AFP )

Massive police presence at the trial
The list of charges is long: the suspects are accused of aiding and abetting embezzlement, concealing schemes, abuse of office, violating banking laws and paying bribes on a large scale. The public prosecutor is demanding the death penalty for the main defendant, Lan. The trial is expected to last several months and will involve ten prosecutors, 200 lawyers and hundreds of witnesses. The courthouse is protected by a massive police presence.

The courthouse is heavily guarded.

(Bild: VNA)

Vietnam's banking system could falter
Around 42,000 people are directly affected by the criminal activities as bank customers. Hundreds of people voiced their displeasure at protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City - a rarity in the communist and authoritarian country. There are fears that the scandal could even shake Vietnam's banking system.

Anti-corruption measures also have disadvantages
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party has been trying to curb corruption for several years. However, these efforts also have negative effects. Experts warn that this could jeopardize Vietnam's economic stability. Local authorities and officials are currently reluctant to approve infrastructure investments. The fear of becoming the focus of investigations is great.