Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was found guilty of embezzling billions of dollars in bank loans, amid a Vietnam Communist Party campaign against corruption. Lan, chairwoman of real estate company Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, was accused of appropriating assets from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB) The loans reportedly totaled $44 billion and accounted for more than 90% of SCB's loans between 2012 and 2022.
An estimated $12.3 billion was channeled to Van ThinH Phat, while other funds ended used privately. Some of the more than 1,000 loans had been settled by Lan, according to the judges, but the court said he had to compensate the bank in full. The case against Lan is part of a broader offensive against corruption launched by the communist party in power, in Vietnam and which has been dubbed a “burning furnace” Senior politicians, including former presidents, have been forced to resign in connection with the campaign and hundreds of officials and businessmen have been convicted.