Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of Vietnamese developer Van Thinh Phat, has been sentenced to death for masterminding a multi-billion-dollar fraud, state-controlled media reported Thursday. Judges at Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Court said she was guilty of bribery, embezzlement and violating banking regulations. Lan owned a 91.5% stake in Saigon Commercial Bank and, over the course of 10 years, ordered bank officials to approve more than 2,500 loans to shell companies she controlled, causing the bank to lose the equivalent of US$27 billion. Lan ordered subordinates to bribe auditors at the State Bank of Vietnam to cover her tracks. Head banking inspector Do Thi Nhan received $5.2 million in bribes, while deputy chief inspector Nguyen Van Hung received $300,000, state media said. A family member told Reuters Lan planned to appeal the verdict. Edited by Elaine Chan. |
Longest ever case of Covid lasted 613 DAYS and turned into ultraNew York man Craig Ross Jr is sentenced to 47 years to life for sexually assaulting nineOlympic sports bodies criticize track and field's move to pay $50,000 for Paris gold medalistsJoJo Siwa fans are left stunned to discover that the platinum blonde 20AP Week in Pictures: Europe and AfricaSouth Korea slows plan to hike medical school admissions as doctors' strike drags onOld mill where nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty is said to have originated could be yours for £650,000Maurizio Cattalan, Zoe Soldana collaborate in iconoclastic Vatican exhibition inside women’s prisonMore human remains believed those of missing woman wash up on beachMore people are evacuated after the dramatic eruption of an Indonesian volcano