Vietnamese real estate magnate Trương Mỹ Lan's appeal against her death sentence for a billion-dollar fraud has been rejected due to its "unprecedented consequences," but she may avoid execution by repaying most of the embezzled assets.
Five suspects have been detained and will be prosecuted for alleged fraud following an investigation into funds raised by GFDI, an investment consultancy company, in the central city of Đà Nẵng.
Between July and September, customs officials detected and processed 4,748 violations, with the estimated value of seized goods amounting to VNĐ7.584 trillion (US$309.9 million), contributing to the state budget VNĐ141 billion ($5.76 million).
Authorities are facing challenges in enforcing claims in Việt Nam’s largest financial fraud case involving assets worth billions of dollars linked to Trương Mỹ Lan, the chairwoman of the Vạn Thịnh Phát group.
The HCM City People’s Court has asked over 35,000 individuals who acquired fraudulent bonds linked to the Vạn Thịnh Phát scheme to confirm their personal information on its official website in preparation for an upcoming trial.
With more than 391 million shares sold at their inflated value, the defendants accumulated more than VNĐ4.8 trillion ($190 million) and embezzled over VNĐ3.6 trillion ($142.4 million) of stock investors, according to the prosecutors.
Former FLC Chairman Trịnh Văn Quyết, along with his sisters Trịnh Thị Minh Huế and Trịnh Thị Thúy Nga, as well as five subordinates are indicted by the Supreme People's Procuracy for fraud and expropriation of assets, as well as stock manipulation.
Vạn Thịnh Phát chairwoman Trương Mỹ Lan, who is on death row, is facing additional charges, including misappropriation of assets through fraudulent bond issuances, as part of what is considered Việt Nam’s biggest financial scam ever.
According to the media, a visitor reported that she was scammed, twice, when booking accommodation in Hạ Long City via two booking websites, which gave out false addresses.
Taking advantage of the situation where many customers struggle with biometric authentication, fraudsters have impersonated bank employees to assist in biometric installation, aiming to steal user information for illicit gain.
As many as 5,064 Vietnamese apps were removed from the App Store in 2023 due to fraud-related issues, according to the App Store 2023 Transparency Report.
Police are continuing to urge victims to come forward and provide any relevant information and documents in a VNĐ30 trillion (US$1.18 billion) bond fraud case, part of what is considered the largest financial scandal in Việt Nam’s history.
