Vietnamese real estate tycoon Chiong My Lan was sentenced to death for financial fraud amounting to VND 304 trillion ($12.46 billion). Deutsche Welle reports this.
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A court in Ho Chi Minh City, the largest city and business center of Vietnam, found the head of the development company Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group Chiong Mi Lan guilty of embezzlement, bribery and banking violations rules.
“The actions of the accused… undermined people’s trust in the leadership of the (Communist, ed.) Party and the state,” the verdict says.
Prosecutors said that the total amount of damage caused fraud, amounts to 27 billion euros, equivalent to 6% of Vietnamese GDP in 2023.
Lan, 67, denied the accusations and blamed her subordinates.
Lan and 85 other defendants were arrested as part of a national crackdown on corruption that has engulfed many officials and members of Vietnam's business elite in recent years.
Since 2021, more than 4,400 people have been charged in more than 1,700 bribery cases.
What Lan is accused of
Lan, who is the wife of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman also on trial, was found guilty of creating false loan applications to withdraw money from the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), which she owned. 90% stake.
Police say they have identified about 42,000 victims of the scam, SCB bond holders who have been unable to withdraw their money and have not received interest since Lan's arrest in October 2022.
