A court in Ho Chi Minh City upheld Truong My Lan’s death sentence on appeal. She is considered the mastermind of an unprecedented scam in Vietnam.
No reason to reduce the sentence
On Tuesday, December 3, a court in Ho Chi Minh City confirmed the death sentence of Truong My Lanformer director of a real estate giant. She was accused of masterminding the biggest financial scandal in the world. Vietnamreminds The Parisian.
The judges ruled that there was no reason to reduce the sentence handed down at first instance, because she is considered the mastermind of a fraud estimated at 27 billion dollars (25 billion euros). Now, it must return 9 billion dollars to escape the death penalty.
A fortune at the heart of scandal
In this case, the 68-year-old woman is said to have accumulated personal wealth to the tune of 12 billion dollars (11.4 billion euros). Justice took into account the seriousness of the facts before pronouncing the sentence, according to the BBC.
However, Vietnamese law provides an alternative. If the sixty-year-old returns 75% of the embezzled sum, or 9 billion dollars (8.6 billion euros), her sentence will be commuted to life in prison.
She will be able to negotiate the sale of her property
The lawyers of Truong My Lan argued for a life sentence. According to them, a death sentence would compromise the negotiation of the sale of its property and investments at a good price, making repayment impossible. “The total value of his assets exceeds the amount of compensation required“, assured her lawyer Nguyen Huy Thiep. They hope to obtain leniency from the court so that their client can raise the required sum.
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