Appeal of Vietnam death row tycoon to begin in separate case

Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan (R)could escape the death penalty if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets. – Copyright AFP STR

The appeal of a Vietnamese property tycoon convicted of money laundering will begin next week, state media said on Saturday, three months after losing her appeal against the death penalty in a separate case.

Property developer Truong My Lan was found guilty of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) in April 2024 and sentenced to death for fraud totalling $27 billion.

Lan appealed that verdict, and the court determined there was no basis to reduce her sentence, but said she could still escape the death penalty if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets.

Now, she is appealing the verdict from a second trial in October, in which she was sentenced to life in prison for three crimes.

The appeal is scheduled to begin on Tuesday and last until April 21, and Lan will be defended by eight lawyers, state-run news site VNExpress said Saturday. 

The 68-year-old was found guilty of laundering $17.7 billion and illegal cross-border trafficking of $4.5 billion.

She was also found guilty of bond fraud to the tune of $1.2 billion.

Twenty-seven others will also appeal their sentences, state media said.

During her first trial in April, Lan was found guilty of embezzling $12.5 billion, but prosecutors said the total damages caused by the scam amounted to $27 billion — equivalent to around six percent of the country’s 2023 GDP.

Lan owned just five percent of shares in SCB on paper, but at her trial, the court concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90 percent through family, friends and staff. 

Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, shocking the communist nation and prompting rare protests from the victims.