In a remarkable trial that captured global attention, a 67-year-old Vietnamese property developer was sentenced to death on Thursday for orchestrating one of the largest bank frauds in history. Behind the grand yellow facade of the colonial-era courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, Truong My Lan was found guilty of siphoning $44 billion in loans from the Saigon Commercial Bank over an 11-year span. The verdict, rare for a white-collar crime, underscores the enormity of the fraud. Lan was ordered to repay $27 billion, a sum authorities fear may never be recovered.
This case, uncommonly transparent for Vietnam’s typically secretive communist regime, involved extensive legal proceedings. With 2,700 witnesses summoned and a team of 10 state prosecutors and approximately 200 lawyers, the trial drew intense scrutiny both domestically and internationally.
The trial unfolded with staggering evidence: 104 boxes weighing a total of six tonnes. Truong My Lan faced trial alongside 85 others, all of whom were found guilty. While Lan maintains her innocence and has the option to appeal, the court handed down verdicts for all defendants. Four received life sentences, while others received prison terms ranging from 20 years to suspended sentences of three years. Additionally, Lan’s husband and niece were sentenced to nine and 17 years in prison, respectively.
David Brown, a retired US State Department official well-versed in Vietnam affairs, commented, “I don’t recall a spectacle of this magnitude during the communist era. This trial stands out as a pivotal moment in Vietnam’s ‘Blazing Furnaces’ anti-corruption drive, led by Communist Party Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong.”
Trong, a staunch ideologue, views rampant corruption as a direct threat to the Communist Party’s grip on power. Initiating the campaign in 2016, he intensified efforts after maneuvering to retain leadership within the party, sidelining the then pro-business prime minister. The anti-corruption campaign has witnessed the resignation of two presidents, two deputy prime ministers, and the disciplining or imprisonment of hundreds of officials. Now, Truong My Lan, one of the nation’s wealthiest women, joins their ranks.
Hailing from a Sino-Vietnamese family in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, Lan’s roots trace back to the city’s vibrant commercial hub, which has thrived since its days as the anti-communist capital of South Vietnam, boasting a sizable ethnic Chinese community.
Her journey began humbly, as a market stall vendor selling cosmetics alongside her mother. However, with the advent of economic reforms, known as Doi Moi, initiated by the Communist Party in 1986, Lan transitioned to investing in land and properties. By the 1990s, she had amassed a significant portfolio of hotels and restaurants.
While Vietnam garners attention abroad for its burgeoning manufacturing sector, serving as an alternative supply chain to China, the country’s affluent individuals predominantly amassed wealth through property development and speculation.