The Appeal Session For The Death Penalty Of Tycoon Vietnam, A Banking Fraud Case, Was Held In November

Illustration of the hammer of the panel of judges in court. (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Truong My Lan's appeal hearing, a Vietnamese property tycoon who was sentenced to death for a banking fraud case worth a total of 27 billion US dollars, will begin in November 2024.

"The People's High Court in Ho Chi Minh City has issued a decision to open an appeal hearing for Truong My Lan and his accomplices in the first Van Thinh Phat case on November 4," said the state-controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper, quoted from AFP, Wednesday, October 23.

Lan was found guilty of embezzling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) which the defendant controlled.

The panel of judges sentenced Lan to death who is the leader of the real estate developer at the verdict hearing which took place in April 2024.

According to the court, between 2012 and 2022, Lan used nearly 1,300 fake loan applications to withdraw money from SCB, where he owns 90 percent of the shares.

The driver transported cash worth more than US$4.4 billion from SCB's headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City to Lan's home and Van Thinh Phat's head office.

This case of embezzlement of money had shocked Vietnam due to tens of thousands of SCB customers losing funds in their savings.

Aksi protes nasabah sempat terjadi menuntut kembalinya uang di tabung mereka.

Apart from Lan, 47 other defendants also filed an appeal.

The newspaper added that the appeal hearing was scheduled to end on November 25.

The announcement of the schedule for this appeal hearing comes days after Lan was found guilty in another case, namely money laundering or money laundry with a life sentence of imprisonment.

In the same case, as many as 85 other defendants were also sentenced to charges ranging from bribery and abuse of power to confiscation and violations of banking law.

They were arrested as part of a firm national corruption officer who has dragged many officials and members of Vietnam's elite business.