Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan (second from left) attends her trial at the People’s High Court in Ho Chi Minh City. (EPA images pic)
HANOI: A Vietnamese property tycoon who was jailed for life for laundering more than US$17 billion will learn Monday whether her appeal against the verdict has been successful after she claimed what happened was “an accident”.
Property developer Truong My Lan has already lost a challenge against the death penalty in a separate case in which she was found guilty in April last year of stealing money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and fraud amounting to US$27 billion.
The appeal court ruled there was no basis to reduce her sentence, but said that she could still escape the death penalty if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets.
Now she awaits the verdict of an appeal court in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday, after she was sentenced to life in prison for three crimes during a second trial in October.
In her final words before the court last week, Lan described what happened as “an accident”.
“Since being jailed, I have tried my best… to seek the best solutions to (deal with my) projects and properties,” she was quoted as saying by state media.
Authorities and Lan have been discussing in court how her assets may be used to compensate victims of her crimes.
“Please acknowledge my effort,” she added.
The 68-year-old was found guilty of laundering US$17.7 billion and illegal cross-border trafficking of US$4.5 billion.
She was also found guilty of bond fraud to the tune of US$1.2 billion.
During the appeal, prosecutors called for a reduced sentence for Lan, citing her repayment of one quarter of the money she defrauded from thousands of bond investors.
In October, the court had determined that Lan was “the mastermind, committed the crime with sophisticated methods, many times, causing especially serious consequences”.
Another 33 defendants were also sentenced during Lan’s October trial and were given jail terms ranging from two to 23 years. State media said 27 of them were appealing their sentences.
During her first trial in April 2024, Lan was found guilty of embezzling US$12.5 billion but prosecutors said the damages caused by the scam totalled US$27 billion – equivalent to around 6% of the country’s 2023 GDP.
Lan owned just 5% of shares in SCB on paper but the court concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90% through family, friends and staff.
Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, prompting rare protests in the communist nation.
