Trương Mỹ Lan, 69, former chairwoman of the Vạn Thịnh Phát Group, faces the death penalty for embezzling $27 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The High People’s Court in HCM City has reduced Vietnamese real estate tycoon Trương Mỹ Lan’s life sentence to 20 years for fraud, but due to a concurrent death sentence from a separate trial, she faces execution.

The court on Monday also upheld her sentences of 12 years for money laundering and eight years for illegal currency transport.

Last year, the 69-year-old former chairwoman of Vạn Thịnh Phát group appealed a life sentence for appropriating over VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.18 billion) from bondholders, with widespread financial fallout affecting at least 42,000 victims.

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

Her appeal for the death sentence was denied due to the severe consequences of her actions, though she could avoid execution by returning 75 per cent of the embezzled funds and cooperating with authorities under Vietnamese laws.

Lan has committed to compensating victims and addressing the fallout from her fraud.

Authorities have seized millions in assets linked to her, and a central committee has been established to manage asset recovery.

The court indicated that a significant amount could potentially be collected to repay victims.

Authorities have confiscated VNĐ8.6 trillion from Lan, and will likely collect another VNĐ15 trillion soon by liquidating other assets she owns.

She also owns VNĐ21 trillion in securities.

Other defendants, including Trương Huệ Vân, Lan’s niece, and Chu Lập Cơ, her husband, received reduced sentences of one to two years due to their limited roles or difficult backgrounds.

In contrast, the court upheld the appeal of Võ Tấn Hoàng Văn, the former SCB general director, confirming his 12-year sentence for fraud and five years for illegal currency transport, which together resulted in a life sentence.

Bùi Anh Dũng, the former SCB chairman, also had his 10-year sentence maintained, leading to a life sentence due to insufficient new evidence.

Although Lan officially owned only 5 per cent of SCB’s shares, the court found she effectively controlled over 90 per cent through a network of family and associates.

Lan’s arrest was part of a broader anti-corruption campaign in Việt Nam that has intensified since 2021.

The scandal, deemed Việt Nam’s most serious, has revealed years of careless oversight by authorities, particularly the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Finance's State Securities Commission. — VNS