HANOI, Sept 19 (Askume) – Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, who has been sentenced to death, will face a new trial starting on Thursday on additional financial fraud charges, state media reported.
Lan Zheng, chairman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, is accused of obtaining properties through fraud, money laundering and illegal cross-border fund transfers, state media reported.
Lan is among a slew of high-profile business executives and state officials jailed in the Communist-ruled country’s years-long anti-corruption drive , known as the “fiery furnace.”
Reports say her trial in Ho Chi Minh City is expected to last a month. Thirty-three of Lan’s co-conspirators will also be tried, with authorities expecting up to 1,000 people to attend each day.
According to a police statement released ahead of the trial, Lan was accused of illegally raising VND30 trillion ($1.2 billion) through bond issuance, illegally transferring $4.5 billion in and out of Vietnam, and laundering VND445 trillion ($18.1 billion).
In April, Lan was sentenced to death for corruption, bribery and violations of bank regulations in the VND304 trillion financial fraud case , the largest financial fraud case in the country’s history.
(1 USD = 24,600 Dong)
