HANOI: The appeal trial of a Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud totalling $27 billion will begin in November, state media said Wednesday.
Property developer Truong My Lan was found guilty in April of swindling cash from the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) — which prosecutors said she controlled — and sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history.
Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, shocking the communist nation and prompting rare protests from the victims.
“The High People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City has issued the decision to open an appeal trial for Truong My Lan and accomplices in the first Van Thinh Phat case on November 4,” state-controlled Tuoi Tre newspaper said, referring to the major real estate developer of which Lan was chair.
A total of 48 defendants are appealing, including Lan, and the trial is scheduled to end on November 25, the newspaper added, citing the court.
The announcement comes days after Lan was convicted of money laundering and jailed for life in a separate case.
During her first trial, Lan was found guilty of embezzling $12.5 billion, but prosecutors said the total damages caused by the scam amounted to $27 billion — equivalent to around six percent of the country’s 2023 GDP.
The court ordered Lan to pay almost the entire damages sum in compensation.
Eighty-five others were also sentenced on charges ranging from bribery and abuse of power to appropriation and violations of banking law.
They were arrested as part of a national corruption crackdown that has swept up numerous officials and members of Vietnam’s business elite.
Between 2012 and 2022, Lan used nearly 1,300 fake loan applications to withdraw money from SCB, in which she owned a 90 percent stake, the court found.
Her driver transported the equivalent of more than $4.4 billion in cash from SCB’s headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City to her nearby home and Van Thinh Phat’s head office, state media reported, citing the police investigation.
![]()
Vietnam tycoon’s death row appeal to begin in November
Short Url
https://arab.news/8gmab
Vietnam tycoon’s death row appeal to begin in November
- Property developer Truong My Lan was found guilty in April of swindling cash and sentenced to death
- A total of 48 defendants are appealing, including Lan, and the trial is scheduled to end on November 25
Taiwanese reporter accused of bribing military officers to leak information to China
- District court orders detention of television reporter surnamed Lin and five current and retired military officers
TAIPEI: A journalist in Taiwan was detained Saturday on allegations of bribing army officers to provide military information to people from mainland China, as the self-ruled island cracks down on potential infiltration from China.
Taiwan’s Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office said in a statement that a district court ordered the detention of a television reporter surnamed Lin and five current and retired military officers. The statement didn’t identify the journalist, but CTi TV issued a statement about the detention of its reporter Lin Chen-you.
The company said that it does not know the details of the case, but called for a fair judicial process, adding “God bless Taiwan.”
While Taiwan regularly pursues espionage cases within the government and military, allegations against journalists are unusual.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to take control of the island by force if necessary, has been increasing military pressure against the island. Last month, China’s military launched large-scale drills around it for two days after a Washington announcement of large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.
Prosecutors accuse Lin of paying amounts ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of Taiwan dollars (tens to hundreds of US dollars) to current military officers in exchange for their providing information to “Chinese individuals.” The office didn’t specify who the Chinese people were or whether they were linked to the Chinese government.
Authorities raided the premises of the reporter and nine current and retired military personnel on Friday as part of an investigation into violations of Taiwan’s national security and corruption laws and disclosure of confidential information. CTi said that its offices were not raided.
According to Lin’s Facebook page, he was a political reporter and anchor covering the island’s legislature.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.
Taiwan’s Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office said in a statement that a district court ordered the detention of a television reporter surnamed Lin and five current and retired military officers. The statement didn’t identify the journalist, but CTi TV issued a statement about the detention of its reporter Lin Chen-you.
The company said that it does not know the details of the case, but called for a fair judicial process, adding “God bless Taiwan.”
While Taiwan regularly pursues espionage cases within the government and military, allegations against journalists are unusual.
Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own territory and threatens to take control of the island by force if necessary, has been increasing military pressure against the island. Last month, China’s military launched large-scale drills around it for two days after a Washington announcement of large-scale arms sales to Taiwan.
Prosecutors accuse Lin of paying amounts ranging from several thousand to tens of thousands of Taiwan dollars (tens to hundreds of US dollars) to current military officers in exchange for their providing information to “Chinese individuals.” The office didn’t specify who the Chinese people were or whether they were linked to the Chinese government.
Authorities raided the premises of the reporter and nine current and retired military personnel on Friday as part of an investigation into violations of Taiwan’s national security and corruption laws and disclosure of confidential information. CTi said that its offices were not raided.
According to Lin’s Facebook page, he was a political reporter and anchor covering the island’s legislature.
China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when the Communist Party rose to power in Beijing following a civil war. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan, which later transitioned from martial law to multiparty democracy.
Latest updates
© 2026 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.