Mr. Lan was convicted in April 2024 of embezzlement, bribery and violating banking regulations. The scheme involved shell companies and fake loan applications and siphoned an estimated $12.5 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) between 2012 and 2022.
All about Truong Mi Lan
Lan was born in 1956 and started helping sell cosmetics with her mother, a Chinese businesswoman, in Ho Chi Minh City’s oldest market, according to state media Tien Huong.
She and her family founded Van Tinh Phat in 1992. At this time, Vietnam had abolished its state-run economy in favor of a market-oriented economy open to foreigners. Over the years, VTP has grown into one of the wealthiest real estate companies in Vietnam.
The company currently owns some of Ho Chi Minh’s most valuable real estate properties, including the glittering 39-story Times Square Saigon, the five-star Windsor Plaza Hotel, the 37-story Capital Place office building, and the five-star Sherwood Residences. It is connected with. This is the hotel where Ran lived until his arrest.
Ms Lan met her husband, Hong Kong investor Eric Chu Nap-kee, in 1992. they have two daughters.
How Ran defrauded the bank
Prosecutors say Lan secretly took control of SCB and used it to orchestrate a fraud that involved paying $5.2 million in bribes to state officials. The scam has caused thousands of citizens to lose their savings, which could amount to about $27 billion, nearly 3% of Vietnam’s 2022 GDP. It all started in 2011, when Mr Lan was involved in the merger of the beleaguered Saigon Cooperative Commercial Bank (SCB) with two other lenders in a scheme orchestrated by Vietnam’s central bank.
According to government documents, she used banks as cash cows, illegally taking control of them from 2012 to 2022, and using thousands of “ghost companies” in Vietnam and abroad to lend money to herself and her allies. It is said that he did this.
State media VN Express earlier reported that the loans had resulted in losses of $27 billion.
She is accused of paying bribes to government officials, including a former central official who was sentenced to life in prison for accepting $5.2 million in bribes, and violating banking regulations, according to government documents.
The trial was attended by 85 defendants, including Ms. Lan’s husband and niece. Over 6 tons of evidence was submitted. Lan was sentenced to death in April 2024 on charges of embezzlement, bribery and violating banking regulations.
Under Vietnamese law, if a person repays 75% of the stolen funds, the sentence can be reduced to life imprisonment. Run is seeking to raise $9 billion to meet this requirement by selling assets and seeking financing. Her lawyers argue that a death sentence would hinder her ability to effectively liquidate her holdings.
