A prominent Vietnamese property tycoon and dozens of co-accused await verdicts on Thursday in one of the nation's largest fraud cases involving the alleged embezzlement of $12.5 billion.
Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, is accused of siphoning funds from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over ten years. Following a five-week trial, Lan, along with 85 others, including former central bankers, ex-government officials, and former SCB executives, faces sentencing in the southern business hub of Ho Chi Minh City. The charges against them range from bribery and abuse of power to appropriation and violations of banking laws.
While Lan has denied the allegations, placing blame on subordinates, prosecutors have advocated for the death penalty, an unusually harsh punishment for such offences.
The arrests of Lan and the other accused are part of a broader anti-corruption campaign that has ensnared numerous officials and members of Vietnam's business elite in recent years.
In her final remarks to the court last week, Lan appeared to express thoughts of suicide.
"In my desperation, I thought of death," she said, according to state media.
"I am so angry that I was stupid enough to get involved in this very fierce business environment—the banking sector—which I have little knowledge of."
Police have identified approximately 42,000 victims of the scandal, which has sent shockwaves through the Southeast Asian nation.
Lan, who is married to a wealthy Hong Kong businessman who is also facing trial, is accused of orchestrating fraudulent loan applications to illicitly withdraw funds from SCB, in which she held a 90 per cent stake.
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