Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan lost her appeal Tuesday against a death sentence for masterminding the world’s largest bank fraud, though she maintains a chance of survival if she can repay billions in stolen funds.
The appeals court found no basis to reduce the 68-year-old’s death sentence, originally imposed in April for secretly controlling Saigon Commercial Bank and embezzling $12 billion through an elaborate network of shell companies. The total fraud scheme amounted to $44 billion over a decade, with prosecutors saying $27 billion was misappropriated.
Under Vietnamese law, Truong could avoid execution if she returns $9 billion – three-quarters of the embezzled amount. Her lawyers say she is working urgently to liquidate assets, though the task is complicated by frozen accounts and property holdings.
“The total value of her holdings actually exceeds the required compensation amount,” defense lawyer Nguyen Huy Thiep told the BBC. “However, these require time and effort to sell, as many of the assets are real estate and take time to liquidate.”
Truong’s rise and fall mirrors Vietnam’s economic transformation. Born to a Sino-Vietnamese family in Ho Chi Minh City, she began as a market stall cosmetics vendor before building a real estate empire following the Communist Party’s 1986 economic reforms. By the 1990s, she controlled a vast portfolio of hotels and restaurants through her Van Thinh Phat Group.
The verdict extended beyond Truong, with all 85 co-defendants convicted. Four received life sentences, while others, including her husband and niece, got terms ranging from 20 years to suspended sentences. The State Bank of Vietnam reportedly spent billions recapitalizing Saigon Commercial Bank to prevent wider financial panic.
While Vietnam treats death penalty data as a state secret, human rights groups estimate more than 1,000 prisoners await execution. Typically, years pass before sentences are carried out, though prisoners receive little advance notice. Truong still has options for appeal, including a petition to the president for amnesty.
