Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan, 68, has lost her appeal against a death sentence for masterminding the world’s largest bank fraud.
Convicted in April for siphoning $12 billion out of Saigon Commercial Bank, the nation’s fifth-largest lender, she now faces a race against time to raise $9 billion to have her sentence commuted to life imprisonment.
The court found Truong had secretly controlled the bank through a network of shell companies for over a decade, misappropriating $27 billion and embezzling $12 billion.
Her case is one of the rare instances where a woman has faced capital punishment for a white-collar crime in Vietnam.
Despite her defiance during the trial, she expressed remorse during her appeal, acknowledging the damage caused to the state and vowing to repay the stolen funds.
Her lawyers have struggled to liquidate her extensive assets, which include luxury properties, shares, and stakes in various projects.
Many of these assets, frozen by authorities, complicate her efforts to raise the required funds.
Her legal team argues that a life sentence would ease negotiations for selling her holdings, which reportedly exceed the required $9 billion.
Truong hopes the court will grant leniency to enable her to continue compensating for her crimes.
Eighty-five others were also convicted, including her husband and niece.
