Vietnamese Tycoon Races to Raise $9bn to Avoid Execution After Masterminding World’s Largest Bank Fraud

Truong My Lan, a 68-year-old Vietnamese property tycoon, has lost her appeal against a death sentence for orchestrating the world’s largest bank fraud.

In April, a trial court found that she had secretly controlled Saigon Commercial Bank, Vietnam’s fifth-largest lender, and orchestrated loans and cash withdrawals amounting to $44 billion over more than a decade through shell companies.

Of this, $27 billion was misappropriated, and $12 billion was embezzled, leading to her death sentence for the most serious financial crime.

Under Vietnamese law, if Truong My Lan repays 75% of the funds she embezzled, her death sentence can be commuted to life imprisonment. Her case has drawn significant attention as she is one of the few women in Vietnam sentenced to death for a white-collar crime.

On December 3, the court upheld Truong My Lan’s death sentence, stating that there was no basis for reducing it. However, she still has a chance to avoid execution if she returns $9 billion of the $12 billion she embezzled.

During her trial, Truong My Lan showed defiance, but in her recent appeal hearings, she expressed contrition, stating that she was embarrassed by her actions and deeply regretted being such a burden on the state. She emphasized that her primary focus was to repay what she had stolen.

Truong My Lan’s rise to prominence began with her humble beginnings as a market stall vendor selling cosmetics with her mother. After the Vietnamese Communist Party introduced economic reforms in 1986, she began purchasing land and property. By the 1990s, she had accumulated a significant portfolio of hotels and restaurants.

When Truong My Lan was convicted and sentenced in April, she was serving as the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group, a prominent real estate firm. Her conviction was a significant moment in Vietnam’s “Blazing Furnaces” anti-corruption campaign, led by the then-Communist Party Secretary-General, Nguyen Phu Trong.

In total, 85 defendants were convicted in the case. Four received life sentences, while the rest, including Truong My Lan’s husband and niece, were given prison terms ranging from 20 years to three years suspended.

Truong My Lan’s legal team has stated that she is working diligently to raise the $9 billion required for her sentence to be commuted. However, liquidating her assets has proven difficult. Some of her properties are luxury real estate in Ho Chi Minh City, which could theoretically be sold quickly. However, others are tied up in shares or stakes in businesses or property projects.

The authorities have identified over a thousand assets linked to the fraud, which have been frozen. According to reports, Truong My Lan has also reached out to friends to secure loans to help reach the target amount.

Truong My Lan’s legal team has argued for leniency in her case, stressing that her current death sentence makes it extremely difficult for her to negotiate the best prices for selling her assets and investments.

They contend that her situation would improve if her sentence were reduced to life imprisonment, as she would be able to engage more effectively in managing her assets to raise the required $9 billion.

Her lawyers claim that under a life sentence, she would have more time and freedom to secure better deals, which could help her meet the financial requirement to avoid execution. They argue that her current circumstances significantly hinder her ability to pay back the embezzled funds at the optimal value, as her death sentence creates pressure that could negatively impact her asset sales.

“The total value of her holdings actually exceeds the required compensation amount,” lawyer Nguyen Huy Thiep said before her appeal was rejected.

“However, these require time and effort to sell, as many of the assets are real estate and take time to liquidate. Truong My Lan hopes the court can create the most favourable conditions for her to continue making compensation.”