Fitting for one of the biggest bank frauds the world has ever witnessed, it was the most dramatic trial to be held in Vietnam.
A 67-year-old Vietnamese real estate developer was found guilty on Thursday of robbing one of the biggest banks in the nation during an 11-year period, and she was condemned to death.
She is one of the few women in Vietnam to receive a death sentence for a white-collar crime, making it an unusual decision.
The decision is a reflection of the fraud’s astounding scope. After taking out a $44 billion loan from the Saigon Commercial Bank, Truong My Lan was found guilty. As per the verdict, she must return $27 billion, a figure that the prosecution claimed might never be retrieved.
Some people think the court is attempting to get her to return part of the billions that have gone missing by imposing the death penalty.
The usually reclusive communist officials were remarkably transparent about this case, providing the media with every little detail. They added that some 200 attorneys and ten state prosecutors were among the 2,700 witnesses called to testify.
Six tonnes of evidence were contained in 104 crates. Truong My Lan, who can appeal, was tried with 85 other defendants despite her denial of the charges.
The defendants were all determined to be guilty. Four were given life sentences. The remainder received sentences ranging from three years suspended to twenty years in prison. The husband and niece of Truong My Lan were sentenced to nine and seventeen years in prison, respectively.
