HO CHI MINH CITY: A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for multi-billion-dollar fraud begged a court to spare her life on Tuesday (Nov 26), saying she was trying to repay the stolen funds.
Property developer Truong My Lan, 68, was convicted earlier this year of embezzling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) – which prosecutors said she controlled – and condemned to die for fraud totalling US$27 billion in one of the biggest corruption cases in history.
She is appealing against her sentence at a court in Ho Chi Minh City, with the ruling expected in the coming days.
In her final remarks before the court, Lan said: “My only thought is on how to repay the debt to the SBV (State Bank of Vietnam) and the people. I don’t think about the damage to myself and my family.
“I feel pained due to the waste of national resources,” Lan said, adding she felt “very embarrassed to be charged with this crime”.
“Please reconsider and reduce my sentence,” she asked the court.
According to Vietnamese law, Lan could escape the death penalty if she proactively returns three-quarters of the embezzled assets and is judged to have co-operated sufficiently with authorities.
But prosecutors argued on Monday that she had not met the conditions, and emphasised her crime’s consequences were “huge and without precedent”.
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