Trương Mỹ Lan, former chairwoman of Vạn Thịnh Phát Group, at her recent appeals trial at the HCM City People’s High Court. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Vietnamese real estate tycoon Trương Mỹ Lan is appealing her sentence of life in prison after her previous appeal against a death sentence was rejected in a billion-dollar fraud case considered Việt Nam’s largest corruption scandal.

Lan has appealed her life sentence for three charges in the Vạn Thịnh Phát scandal, which include embezzling over VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.18 billion) from bondholders.

The initial ruling found her and her accomplices guilty of fraudulently appropriating these funds through the issuance of counterfeit bonds, laundering over VNĐ445.7 trillion ($17.53 billion), and illegally transporting $4.5 billion across borders.

At least 42,000 victims suffered significant financial losses in the scam, leading to widespread protests, according to the court.

The court has ordered Lan to repay the full amount fraudulently obtained.

The case has been forwarded to the HCM City High People’s Court for appeal proceedings.

In a separate trial, Lan was sentenced to death in April for embezzling $27 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), equivalent to 6 per cent of Việt Nam’s GDP in 2023.

She also appealed that sentence but her appeal was denied earlier this month due to the “unprecedented consequences.”

Under Vietnamese law, she could, however, avoid execution by returning 75 per cent of the embezzled funds and cooperating with authorities.

In her appeal in handwriting, Lan claimed the death sentence was “excessively severe” and requested a more "lenient and humane approach."

The court also rejected the appeal of the chief banking inspector, Đỗ Thị Nhàn, who received a life sentence for accepting a $5.2 million bribe from Lan.

The court, however, reduced sentences for several defendants, including Eric Chu, Lan’s husband, from nine to seven years, and her niece, Trương Huệ Vân, from 17 to 13 years.

In addition, Nguyễn Cao Trí, chairman of Capella Holdings, had his sentence cut from eight to six years for defrauding Lan of VNĐ1 trillion.

Several former senior leaders of SCB and Vạn Thịnh Phát also received sentence reductions for lending regulation violations due to mitigating circumstances.

Lan, founder of property developer Vạn Thịnh Phát, claimed the quickest way to reimburse misappropriated funds was to liquidate SCB and sell assets to repay the State Bank of Vietnam and the victims.

Although she officially held only 5 per cent of SCB’s shares, the court found she controlled over 90 per cent through a network of family members and associates. — VNS