Vietnam death row tycoon begins appeal in $17.7 bn money-laundering case

The appeal of Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan, convicted of money laundering, began on Tuesday, three months after she lost a challenge against the death penalty in a separate case. Lan was found guilty in April 2024 of stealing money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and sentenced to death for fraud amounting to $27 billion.

She appealed against that verdict, but the court ruled there was no basis to reduce her sentence. However, it stated that she could still escape the death penalty if she returned three-quarters of the stolen assets.

Now, she is appealing against the verdict from a second trial in October, in which she was sentenced to life in prison for three crimes. On Tuesday, Lan, now accustomed to high-profile hearings, chatted with police officers and looked relatively relaxed as she waited for the court to start in Ho Chi Minh City.

Her niece, who was handed a five-year prison term in October for fraudulent appropriation of property, sat behind her, flanked by officers. It is the first time Lan is in the dock without her husband, Chu Nap Kee, who is not challenging a two-year sentence he was handed for money laundering in October.

The appeal will last until April 21, and Lan will be defended by eight lawyers, according to state media. The 68-year-old was found guilty of laundering $17.7 billion and illegal cross-border trafficking of $4.5 billion. She was also found guilty of bond fraud amounting to $1.2 billion.

The court determined that Lan was “the mastermind” and committed the crime with sophisticated methods multiple times, causing especially serious consequences. Thirty-three other defendants were also sentenced at the court in Ho Chi Minh City, receiving terms ranging from two to 23 years in prison. Twenty-seven of them are appealing against their sentences, state media reported.

During her first trial in April, Lan was found guilty of embezzling $12.5 billion, but prosecutors said the total damages caused by the scam totaled $27 billion—equivalent to around six percent of the country’s 2023 GDP. Lan officially owned just five percent of shares in SCB, but the court 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, shocking the communist nation and prompting rare protests from the victims.