"Need to Raise 13 Trillion"... Vietnamese Female Tycoon’s Life-Risking Quest to Secure Money

17 Trillion Embezzlement by Vietnamese Female Tycoon Sentenced to Death in First Trial
75% of Embezzled Amount Recognized, Life Sentence Reduced if $9 Billion Repaid
Most Assets Frozen, Seeking Money from Friends

A female conglomerate in Vietnam, who committed the largest embezzlement in the country's history, is reportedly making every effort to raise money to avoid the death penalty.

Chairman Truong My Lan of Banthip Holdings, sentenced to death for embezzling an amount equivalent to 3% of Vietnam's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Photo by AFP, Yonhap News Agency

On the 2nd, the British BBC reported that the Vietnamese conglomerate is striving to gather $9 billion (12.6 trillion KRW) to avoid execution. Truong My Lan (68), chairwoman of Ban Thit Pat Holdings, who was indicted on charges including embezzlement, is accused of conspiring with associates over more than a decade from 2012 to 2022 to embezzle 304 trillion VND (approximately 16.72 trillion KRW) from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), a subsidiary bank. This amount slightly exceeds 3% of Vietnam's 2022 GDP ($400 billion, about 557 trillion KRW). It is recorded as the largest embezzlement in the history of not only Vietnam but also Southeast Asia.

Chairwoman Lan was sentenced to death in the first trial in April, and while the appeal is ongoing, she is seeking money by all means to reduce the sentence to life imprisonment. According to Vietnamese criminal law, a convict sentenced to death for embezzlement and bribery can have the sentence reduced to life imprisonment if they actively return more than three-quarters of their assets to the state and fully cooperate with the authorities' investigation. The embezzled amount recognized in court is $12 billion, and if three-quarters of that, $9 billion, is repaid, the sentence can be reduced to life imprisonment.

BBC reported, "Her lawyers are making every effort to find $9 billion, but it has been revealed that liquidating assets is difficult," adding, "Some of the assets are high-end real estate in Ho Chi Minh City, the capital of Vietnam, which in theory can be sold very quickly. Others are in the form of shares or stakes in other businesses or real estate projects."

BBC also stated, "Vietnamese authorities have identified and frozen more than 1,000 different assets related to fraud across the country," and "She is contacting friends to raise the $9 billion." Her lawyer told BBC, "The total value of her assets actually exceeds the compensation amount required, but since most of the assets are real estate and take time to liquidate, selling them requires time and effort. The court needs to allow time."

BBC reported, "Vietnam treats the death penalty as a state secret. The government does not disclose the number of death row inmates, but human rights organizations say there are more than 1,000, and Vietnam is one of the world's largest executioners."