A Vietnamese tycoon sentenced to death in a fraud value over $12 billion is accused of cash laundering
Police say Lan, together with 33 others, ought to be prosecuted for alleged asset embezzlement, money laundering and illegal cross-border currency transportation linked to real estate company Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group and Saigon Commercial Bank, or SCB, the newspaper said, citing ministry information Public Safety.
A press release posted on the Ministry of Public Security’s website detailed the allegations but didn’t name Lan.
According to the VnExpress news website, police accuse Lan and her accomplices of illegally transporting roughly $4.5 billion across the border over a 10-year period, starting in October 2012. In addition, investigators accuse them of laundering money value VND445.75 trillion ($17.5 billion) through the embezzlement of SCB assets and bond issuance, in line with the report.
Lan served as chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings, and prosecutors said she illegally controlled greater than 90 percent of SCB by paying 27 people and entities to accumulate shares within the institution. The arrest of 67-year-old Lan in October 2022 led to a run on the SCB bank. The central bank eventually took over the institution.
Lan is appealing her death sentence in April after being found guilty of charges including bribing government officials, violating bank lending rules and embezzling funds. Fifty other defendants involved within the case also filed appeals, in search of a discount of their sentences.
