Vietnam’s Property Tycoon Sentenced to Death in Unprecedented Corruption Case

In a landmark verdict, a prominent Vietnamese property tycoon, Truong My Lan, has been sentenced to death in one of the largest corruption cases in the nation’s history, involving an estimated $27 billion in damages. The ruling, delivered by a panel of jurors and judges in Ho Chi Minh City, marks an unusually severe punishment for such crimes. Lan, the chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of orchestrating a scheme to swindle funds from Saigon Commercial Bank over a decade, causing significant erosion of trust in the Communist Party’s leadership and the state.

The verdict comes amid a broader anti-corruption crackdown, with 85 other individuals facing charges ranging from bribery to violations of banking law. Lan’s arrest in 2022 sparked protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, underscoring the gravity of the scandal, which has affected thousands of victims and involved elaborate schemes to conceal illicit activities.