Who is Truong My Lan? The Vietnamese tycoon facing death penalty in $12.5 billion fraud trial

Truong My Lan, a 67-year-old Vietnamese property business tycoon, faces the death penalty by a court in Ho Chi Minh City for a 12.5 billion banking fraud, which constituted the biggest financial crime Vietnam has ever seen. The entire scam amounts to $27 billion, which is almost 6% of the country’s 2023 GDP.

Who is Truong My Lan?

Truong My Lan is the founder of Van Thinh Phat Group, a real estate property development group. Born in 1957, who is of Chinese heritage, My Lan started as a cosmetic seller at Ben Thanh Market, working with her mother. After being financially dependent on her mother for quite some time, Lan’s fortunes picked up in 1986 when she first started buying land and property, and by the 1990s, she became the owner of quite a few hotels and restaurants.

Married to a prominent businessman from Hong Kong, her husband also stands on trial for withdrawing money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) by setting up fake loan applications.

Charges against Truong My Lan

Accused of taking cash out of SCB for over 10 years, she faces multiple charges along with 85 others for corroborating with her, on charges of bribery, abuse of power, appropriation, and banking law violations.

Between 2012 and 2022, she was responsible for illegally controlling SCB’s funds through thousands of ghost companies and by bribing government officials. She was arrested in October 2022.

My Lan, along with a few other bankers, paid bribes worth $5.2 million to state officials, making it the largest bribe recorded in the country.
After taking out $44 billion worth of fake loans, prosecutors state that $27 billion may never be recovered.

Truong My Lan’s trial

According to Vietnamese media, around 2,700 people were called to testify, with 10 state prosecutors and approximately 200 lawyers involved.

My Lan, along with the 85 others, denies all charges against them, of whom she and 13 others face the death penalty.
Prosecutors have seized over 1,000 properties belonging to her.

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