HANOI: The appeal of a Vietnamese property tycoon convicted of money laundering will begin next week, state media said on Saturday, three months after losing her appeal against the death penalty in a separate case.
Property developer Truong My Lan was found guilty of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) in April 2024 and sentenced to death for fraud totalling $27 billion.
Lan appealed that verdict, and the court determined there was no basis to reduce her sentence, but said she could still escape the death penalty if she returned three quarters of the stolen assets.
Now, she is appealing the verdict from a second trial in October, in which she was sentenced to life in prison for three crimes.
The appeal is scheduled to begin on Tuesday and last until April 21, and Lan will be defended by eight lawyers, state-run news site VNExpress said Saturday.
The 68-year-old was found guilty of laundering $17.7 billion and illegal cross-border trafficking of $4.5 billion.
She was also found guilty of bond fraud to the tune of $1.2 billion.
Twenty-seven others will also appeal their sentences, state media said.
During her first trial in April, 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.
Lan owned just five percent of shares in SCB on paper, but at her trial, the court concluded that she effectively controlled more than 90 percent through family, friends and staff.
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.
Appeal of Vietnam death row tycoon to begin in separate case
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Appeal of Vietnam death row tycoon to begin in separate case
- Property developer Truong My Lan was found guilty of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank in April 2024
- Lan appealed that verdict, and the court determined there was no basis to reduce her sentence
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
