The Vietnam tycoon, who was sentenced to death, will go on trial soon.
Billionaire Truong My Lan is presently facing additional charges in a retrial following his April conviction for the largest financial fraud in Vietnamese history.The trial of a Vietnamese real estate tycoon who was previously sentenced to death for financial fraud began on Thursday due to further allegations of money laundering.
The chairwoman of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat, Truong My Lan, was sentenced to death in April for orchestrating the biggest financial fraud case in Vietnam’s history.
In2022, the 67-year-old was found guilty of embezzling $12.5 billion (€11.2 billion), or nearly 3% of the country’s GDP, from Southeast Asia.
Lan is presently facing charges related to money laundering, receiving property through deception, and making unauthorized cross-border money transfers, according to state media.
According to a police statement made public prior to the trial, Lan obtained $1.2 billion from approximately 36,000 investors by issuing bonds through four companies in violation of the law.
It was discovered that between 2012 and 2022, 21 companies owned by Lan’s Van Thinh Phat had illegally transferred over $4.5 billion into and out of Vietnam.
The billionaire Vietnamese man is also charged with embezzlement of $18 billion.
Thirty-three other defendants are involved in the case, which is anticipated to last one month.
In a convoy of police vans, Lan and the other defendants arrived at the Ho Chi Minh City court on Thursday.
Standing outside the court, over a dozen victims of fraud begged to be allowed to attend the hearing.
Lan is among the prominent businessmen and government officials incarcerated due to the country’s anti-corruption campaign, dubbed “Blazing Furnace,” which transpired during the years of communist rule.
