Property tycoon Truong My Lan seeks reduction of death sentence

The 68-year-old chairwoman of the Van Thinh Phat Group made a final statement during her appeal at the People’s High Court in Ho Chi Minh City Tuesday, where she is contesting her death sentence for embezzling funds from Saigon Commerical Bank (SCB).

In her speech, Lan spoke for over 20 minutes, saying: "Because of this case, the dreams, hopes and physical strength of myself and dozens of people here have been affected. That was the most terrible experience for me."

Property tycoon Truong My Lan seen at the People's High Court of Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Lan has been found guilty of causing a loss of VND677 trillion (US$27 billion) to SCB over the course of 10 years.

She said that she had made numerous personal sacrifices to help restructure the bank, including giving up time with her two daughters, who were raised by a nanny while she focused on her work.

For many years she and her husband had tried to contribute to Vietnam’s growth with the development of premium property projects, she added.

"I am both an accused and a victim in this case," Lan said, adding that ultimately she just wants to help pay back the debts to the State Bank of Vietnam.

When all the debts are settled, she wants the remaining funds to be used for the construction of hospitals, schools and homes for low-income people, which she had dreamed of doing for many years but had never materialized.

She also insisted the judges to order SCB to submit data on the loans that had occurred at the bank before she became its consultant.

Her defense team had previously argued that SCB had VND125 trillion in loans before its merger with two other banks in 2012.

These loans, they claimed, were wrongfully attributed to Lan during the investigation, despite her having no involvement with them.

SCB has refused to provide further data on these loans, stating that all relevant information had already been submitted to investigators.

"What is the intention of SCB in not submitting these data, which is important to dozens of its former workers who are being tried?" Lan asked.

On Monday prosecutors maintained their recommendation that Lan’s death sentence be upheld, saying that her crimes have resulted in "unprecedented" losses.

Last month, in a separate trial, she was awarded a life sentence for "fraudulent appropriation of assets" through bond issuances and illegal cross-border money transfers among other crimes.