A Vietnamese court confirmed the death sentence of real estate magnate Truong My Lan on Tuesday according to the state media reports. Her appeal against a conviction for embezzlement and bribery linked to a significant $12 billion fraud case was dismissed. Lan is the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, she received the death penalty in April for her involvement in the largest financial fraud case in Vietnam to date.
As reported by the online publication VnExpress, it was concluded by the High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City that there were no grounds on which hr death sentence could be lessened. However, if Lan manages to return three-quarters of the embezzled funds while on death row, there is still a possibility that her sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment.
Lan is among the most prominent business leaders and government officials who were imprisoned during an extensive anti-corruption initiative popularly known as ‘Blazing Furnace’.
The prosecution stated during the appeal hearing that the consequences Lan caused have never been there in the history of litigation, also the amount of money that was embezzled is extraordinarily large and hard to recover.
According to the state-run online newspaper VietnamNet, it was further noted that her actions have impacted a lot of aspects of society including the economy and the financial market.
Lan’s attorney has mentioned that she had several mitigating factors like her expression of remorse, admission of guilt and partial restitution of the embezzled funds, however according to the prosecutor these factors are not sufficient.
Lan retains the right to seek a review under Vietnam’s cassation or retrial process; in addition to the death sentence, she also received a life sentence in a different trial in October for charges including money laundering, fraudulently obtaining property and other illegal activities.
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