Latest news with #SaigonCommercialBank
Nikkei Asia
6 days ago
- Business
- Nikkei Asia
Vietnam tycoon, facing death sentence, offers deal for $26bn fraud
Crime Communist country moves to reduce penalties for financial crimes if compensation paid Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan, who faces the death penalty for embezzlement, may win a reprieve. She is seen here at a trial in Ho Chi Minh City in April 2024. © AP YUJI NITTA and MAI NGUYEN HANOI -- Disgraced Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan has proposed a restructuring plan for her troubled bank, Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), aiming to pay back some of the more than 700 trillion dong ($26.8 billion) that she was convicted of stealing from clients. Lan was sentenced to death and 30 years' imprisonment in two separate trials for a series of financial crimes. Her case is Vietnam's biggest-ever fraud and highlights the country's crackdown on corruption.
The Star
7 days ago
- The Star
Vietnam tycoon Truong My Lan will not face death penalty: Lawyer
Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan's (right) death penalty will be converted to life imprisonment. - AFP HANOI: A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud with damages totalling US$27 billion will no longer face execution, her lawyer said Wednesday (June 25), as the country abolished capital punishment for eight crimes, including property embezzlement. Property developer Truong My Lan's lawyer Giang Hong Thanh told AFP that her death penalty "will be converted to life imprisonment... I informed Lan this morning, she is very happy." Vietnam on Wednesday abolished the death penalty for eight crimes including espionage, graft and attempting to overthrow the government, according to state media. Lan, 68, was convicted last year of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) -- which prosecutors said she controlled -- and sentenced to death for fraud totalling $27 billion -- six per cent of the country's GDP. She appealed the verdict in a month-long trial, but in December the court in Ho Chi Minh City determined that there was "no basis" to reduce her sentence. But the court said Lan's sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets. "If Lan compensates for three quarters of the losses along with some other conditions, she will continue to be considered for a further reduction of her sentence," lawyer Thanh said. Lan "is still actively cooperating with state agencies of Vietnam and her partners to find ways to deal with (her) assets and restructure SCB to come to a final solution to the case." - AFP
News.com.au
7 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan's death sentence downgraded after law abolishment
A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud with damages totalling $27 billion will no longer face execution. Truong My Lan was convicted last year of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) – which prosecutors said she controlled – and sentenced to death for fraud totalling $27 billion. The amount is six per cent of the country's GDP. On Wednesday, the country abolished the death penalty for eight crimes including property embezzlement, espionage, graft and attempting to overthrow the government, according to state media. Death sentences ruled for those convicted of the newly abolished offences before July 1 will be automatically converted to life imprisonment by the chief judge of the Supreme People's Court. Lan, who appealed the verdict in a month-long trial, was told by the courts in December there was 'no basis' to reduce her sentence. Now, the 68-year-old's sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if she returns three quarters of the stolen assets. Lan's lawyer Giang Hong Thanh said her death penalty 'will be converted to life imprisonment … I informed Lan this morning, she is very happy.' 'If Ms Lan compensates for three quarters of the losses along with some other conditions, she will continue to be considered for a further reduction of her sentence,' Thanh told AFP. Lan 'is still actively co-operating with state agencies of Vietnam and her partners to find ways to deal with (her) assets and restructure SCB to come to a final solution to the case.' It is understood Lan only officially owned five per cent of SBC's shares, but controlled over 90 per cent through her family, friends and staff, the courts concluded. Tens of thousands of people across Vietnam lost their savings and public protests broke out, rare in the communist nation. In April, in a separate $17bn money laundering case, Lan's sentence to life imprisonment was downgraded to 30 years on appeal.
The Sun
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Vietnam tycoon will not face death penalty over $27 bn fraud: lawyer
HANOI: A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud totalling $27 billion will no longer face execution, her lawyer said Wednesday, as the country abolished capital punishment for eight crimes, including property embezzlement. Property developer Truong My Lan's lawyer Giang Hong Thanh told AFP that her death penalty 'will be converted to life imprisonment... I informed Ms. Lan this morning, she is very happy.' Vietnam on Wednesday abolished the death penalty for eight crimes including espionage, graft and attempting to overthrow the government, according to state media. Lan, 68, was convicted last year of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) -- which prosecutors said she controlled -- and sentenced to death for fraud with damages totalling $27 billion -- equivalent to around six percent of the country's GDP. She appealed the verdict in a month-long trial, but in December the court in Ho Chi Minh City determined that there was 'no basis' to reduce her sentence. But the court said Lan's sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets. 'If Ms Lan compensates for three quarters of the losses along with some other conditions, she will continue to be considered for a further reduction of her sentence,' lawyer Thanh said Wednesday. Lan 'is still actively cooperating with state agencies of Vietnam and her partners to find ways to deal with (her) assets and restructure SCB to come to a final solution to the case.' Lan owned just five percent of shares in SCB on paper but courts concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90 percent through family, friends and staff. Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, prompting rare protests in the communist nation. In a separate $17 billion money-laundering case, Lan had a life imprisonment sentence cut to 30 years on appeal in April. According to the amended penal code approved by the National Assembly Wednesday, the eight crimes no longer punishable by death include property embezzlement and bribe-taking. Under Vietnamese law, those sentenced to death for the eight crimes -- which also include spying and anti-state activities -- before July 1 will have their sentences converted to life imprisonment by the chief judge of the Suprem People's Court. Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang said 'the current structure of capital punishment was problematic and, in some cases, misaligned with evolving socio-economic conditions and the realities of crime prevention.' One of the reasons for the move given by Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh was that in most cases people sentenced to death for the above crimes were not actually executed. The number of executions has not been made public, but Amnesty International estimates more than 1,200 people were on death row in Vietnam by the end of 2024.
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First Post
25-06-2025
- Business
- First Post
Vietnamese tycoon escpaes death sentence over $27bn fraud case
Truong My Lan 68, was convicted last year of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and sentenced to death for fraud with damages totalling $27 billion – equivalent to around six percent of the country's GDP read more Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan (C-L) looks on at a court in Ho Chi Minh city on March 25, 2025. AFP A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud totalling $27 billion will no longer face execution, her lawyer said Wednesday, as the country abolished capital punishment for eight crimes, including property embezzlement. Property developer Truong My Lan's lawyer Giang Hong Thanh told AFP that her death penalty 'will be converted to life imprisonment… I informed Ms. Lan this morning, she is very happy.' Vietnam on Wednesday abolished the death penalty for eight crimes including espionage, graft and attempting to overthrow the government, according to state media. Lan, 68, was convicted last year of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) – which prosecutors said she controlled – and sentenced to death for fraud with damages totalling $27 billion – equivalent to around six percent of the country's GDP. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD She appealed the verdict in a month-long trial, but in December the court in Ho Chi Minh City determined that there was 'no basis' to reduce her sentence. But the court said Lan's sentence could be reduced to life imprisonment if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets. 'If Ms Lan compensates for three quarters of the losses along with some other conditions, she will continue to be considered for a further reduction of her sentence,' lawyer Thanh said Wednesday. Lan 'is still actively cooperating with state agencies of Vietnam and her partners to find ways to deal with (her) assets and restructure SCB to come to a final solution to the case.' Lan owned just five percent of shares in SCB on paper but courts concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90 percent through family, friends and staff. Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, prompting rare protests in the communist nation. In a separate $17 billion money-laundering case, Lan had a life imprisonment sentence cut to 30 years on appeal in April. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to the amended penal code approved by the National Assembly Wednesday, the eight crimes no longer punishable by death include property embezzlement and bribe-taking. Under Vietnamese law, those sentenced to death for the eight crimes – which also include spying and anti-state activities – before July 1 will have their sentences converted to life imprisonment by the chief judge of the Suprem People's Court. Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang said 'the current structure of capital punishment was problematic and, in some cases, misaligned with evolving socio-economic conditions and the realities of crime prevention.' One of the reasons for the move given by Minister of Justice Nguyen Hai Ninh was that in most cases people sentenced to death for the above crimes were not actually executed. The number of executions has not been made public, but Amnesty International estimates more than 1,200 people were on death row in Vietnam by the end of 2024. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
