{"id":8952,"date":"2024-12-03T16:52:47","date_gmt":"2024-12-03T16:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/vietnamese-tycoon-told-to-repay-billions-in-fraud-case-to-avoid-death-penalty\/"},"modified":"2024-12-03T16:52:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T16:52:47","slug":"vietnamese-tycoon-told-to-repay-billions-in-fraud-case-to-avoid-death-penalty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/?p=8952","title":{"rendered":"Vietnamese tycoon told to repay billions in fraud case to avoid death penalty"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan can avoid execution for orchestrating a $12bn fraud if she repays three-quarters of the misappropriated funds, a court ruled on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The chair of property developer Van Thinh Phat Group was sentenced to death in April after being found guilty of embezzling 304tn dong from Vietnam\u2019s Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB). She was also found guilty of abuse of power and bribing government officials.<\/p>\n

A court in Ho Chi Minh City rejected her appeal against the death sentence, citing the \u201cparticularly serious consequences\u201d from the corruption case, the country\u2019s largest financial fraud, according to Vietnamese state media.<\/p>\n

But the court took note of a Vietnamese law that allows for her sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment if she can repay at least 75 per cent of the misappropriated amount while on death row.<\/p>\n

During a hearing last month, the prosecution had asked her to return at least $11bn. They argued against reversing the death penalty, saying her actions have resulted in \u201cunprecedented\u201d losses.<\/p>\n

The graft case against Lan is part of a broader corruption crackdown in Vietnam by the ruling Communist party that has resulted in hundreds of government officials being arrested and the prosecution of several business executives.<\/p>\n

The \u201cblazing furnace\u201d \u2014 as the crackdown is called in Vietnam \u2014 has also led to a stark slowdown in government activity, including approvals for projects and licences, as officials fear getting caught up in the anti-corruption campaign.<\/p>\n

The crackdown has taken place as Vietnam became a global manufacturing hub, with companies shifting factories away from China due to escalating tensions between Washington and Beijing. <\/p>\n

Lan, 68, is the most high-profile businessperson to be prosecuted in the campaign.\u00a0She can seek a review of Tuesday\u2019s court decision or a presidential pardon.<\/p>\n

She has denied wrongdoing, disputed the amount of money she is accused of embezzling from SCB and begged the court for leniency during the appeals process. Lan has also said the money she allegedly misappropriated from the bank was in fact spent on restructuring the bank.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of this case, the dreams, hopes and physical strength of myself and dozens of people here have been affected. That was the most terrible experience for me,\u201d she said during an appeal hearing last month, state media reported. <\/p>\n

Lan\u2019s lawyers have told the court that the assets confiscated from the tycoon were sufficient to compensate for the losses at SCB. They also said foreign investors have shown interest in reviving some of Lan\u2019s major real estate projects, which could then help offset some of the losses. <\/p>\n

However, prosecutors say it is not possible to determine the value of many of Lan\u2019s assets.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe losses in the case were especially large and unprecedented in history. It is unclear when these losses will be fully compensated,\u201d they said during the appeal hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Vietnamese officials said Lan embezzled billions through illegal control of SCB using fake companies to take out loans and bribe government officials. There are 85 other people who are charged in the case, including her husband, niece and central bank officials. <\/p>\n

Government authorities have previously said SCB gave loans worth more than $44bn to Van Thinh Phat and other companies controlled by Lan between 2012 and 2022, accounting for 93 per cent of the total loans disbursed by the bank. SCB was placed under the control of the central bank control after Lan\u2019s arrest. <\/p>\n

Lan has also been sentenced to life imprisonment in a second trial for money laundering, fraudulent appropriation of assets through bond issuances and illegal cross-border money transfers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Unlock the Editor\u2019s Digest for free Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan can avoid execution for orchestrating a $12bn fraud if she repays three-quarters of the misappropriated funds, a court ruled on Tuesday. The chair of property developer Van Thinh Phat Group was sentenced to death in April after being found guilty of embezzling 304tn dong<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8953,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[206],"tags":[485,3265,592,530,401,1205,3264,3263,708,3262],"class_list":{"0":"post-8952","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-financial-crime","8":"tag-avoid","9":"tag-billions","10":"tag-case","11":"tag-death","12":"tag-fraud","13":"tag-penalty","14":"tag-repay","15":"tag-told","16":"tag-tycoon","17":"tag-vietnamese"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8952\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/finderica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}