In an unprecedented action against corruption in Vietnamthe magnate of Truong My Lan real estate sector, She was sentenced to death by a court days ago, marking a milestone in the judicial history of the Asian country due to the severity of the sentence in a crime of a financial nature.
lan67 years old, faced charges for a financial fraud which amounts to approximately 12.5 billion dong (equivalent to almost USD 327 billion), the largest scam record in Vietnamsurprising both because of the profile of the accused and because of the drastic legal consequences of her actions.
The arrest of this businesswoman occurred in the year 2022 and his subsequent trial have shaken the nation.
This case, in addition to highlighting the challenges in the fight against corruptionHas left in evidence the vulnerability of the financial sector and has generated an environment of uncertainty among foreign investors, despite the country’s efforts to position itself as a commercial alternative to China.
lan was born on October 13, 1956 in Saigon, Vietnam from the south. His family is of descent Teochewfrom Gezhou village in Shantou, Guangdong, settling in “Little Gezhou”, Saigon, an uncle founded the Hòa Thuận Phát maritime company in Chợ Lớn.
She originally became the owner of a hair accessory business in the city of Ho Chi Minh. Using connections to the communist regime led her to enter the real estate business. By the 1990s, she already owned a large portfolio of hotels and restaurants.
In 1992, he founded and chaired the board of directors of Van Thinh Phat Groupa real estate firm for luxury residential buildings, offices, hotels and shopping centers and also financial services.
From 2012 to 2022, lan controlled Sai Gon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB)Vietnam’s largest bank by assets in the city of Ho Chi Minh. SCB was established in 2012 from the merger of three banks that were facing bankruptcy in 2011.
He Central Bank of Vietnam allowed the merger of these three banks, with continued control of Trương Mỹ Lan through more than two dozen intermediaries, with 93 percent of the loans going to his company and associated shell companies.
Everything was going well for Lan, however, her promotion was tainted when she was accused of illegally control the Saigon Joint Commercial Bank (SCB) for about a decade.
The use of a network of shell companies for undue benefits of loans and the bribery of government officials are central parts of the charges against him, which have highlighted the deep roots of corruption in the Vietnamese financial sector.
The implication in the case of Eric Chu Nap-kee, Lan’s husbandwho has been sentenced to nine years in prisonadds another layer of complexity to the judicial drama, underscoring family and business ties in corrupt practices.
The jury rejected all of the defense arguments. Truong My Lanreal estate executive Van Thinh Phataccused of defrauding Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade.
The former central bank official Do Thi Nhan He was sentenced last Thursday to life in prison for accepting $5.2 million in bribes.
In the midst of a fluctuating economic panorama, the case of Truong My Lan serves as a point of reflection for the Vietnamese administration, international investors and citizens, on the importance of integrity and transparency in the financial sector and beyond.
(With information from AP)
