The trial in Vietnam's largest financial fraud case on record involving disgraced property tycoon Truong My Lan began in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday (Mar. 5), with nearly 90 other defendants - including Lan's Chinese husband - also being accused of being part of a $12 billion scam, for which some of them risk getting executed.
According to Reuters, the trial would be held at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City and was expected to last until the end of April.
It was reported that the trial was part of a much wider campaign against corruption in the country, which the leader of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, has pledged for years to stamp out, with no tangible results yet.
In recent months, the crackdown led to multiple high-profile arrests and the resignation of top figures, including the country's former president - Nguyen Xuan Phuc - last year.
However, state media reported that the trial for the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group was unprecedented for its scale, as thousands were expected to be summoned, and about 200 lawyers participated in the proceedings.
Investigators speculated that Lan and her accomplices were accused of siphoning off VND 304 trillion ($12.46 billion) from the country's largest bank by assets, Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), which she effectively controlled through dozens of proxies.
If proven guilty, it could become one of the largest financial frauds in Asia, with Malaysia's 1MDB corruption scandal being the other more significant case in the region.
From early 2018 through October 2022, when SCB was bailed out by the state after a run on its deposits, Lan appropriated large sums by arranging unlawful loans to shell companies, according to public investigators. Another $1.2 billion was lost by holders of bonds issued by Van Thinh Phat, Lan's real estate firm.
For years, Lan has been a central figure in Vietnam's finances and was responsible for the merger of SCB and two other lenders in 2011 to salvage the banks in a plan coordinated with the central bank. Investigators and public information claimed that she also owned several properties and assets in Ho Chi Minh's richest district and overseas.
Public documents show that top international auditors, including Ernst & Young and KPMG, did not raise any concern about the bank in their audits. They did not reply to reporters' requests for comment.
Of all her charges, Lan could risk the death penalty if found guilty of giving bribes and of breaching banking regulations.
