As part of its extensive “blazing furnace” anti-corruption campaign, Vietnam has sentenced a real estate tycoon to death in a $12.5 billion financial fraud case. This is the country’s most recent punishment.<\/p>\n
The decision on Thursday against Truong My Lan, the former chairwoman of the real estate company Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, comes after two presidents resigned in less than a year due to different misconduct charges.<\/p>\n
According to analysts, the extent of Lan’s misbehavior has unsettled the populace in a nation that has historically presented an image of authoritarian stability. This has alarmed international investors, who are a major factor in Vietnam’s rapidly expanding economy.<\/p>\n
Despite regulations severely restricting large shareholding in lenders, investigators claim she and her accomplices embezzled more than 304 trillion dong ($12.5 billion) from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), which she effectively controlled through dozens of proxies, according to Reuters.<\/p>\n
State-owned VN Express International claims that due to Lan’s actions, SCB, one of the nation’s biggest privately held commercial banks, suffered damages of 677 trillion Vietnamese dong ($27 billion). The scale of the fraud was said to be equivalent to roughly 3% of Vietnam\u2019s economy<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nAlso Read:<\/strong><\/h4>\n