The magnate faced by the death penalty has its reduced jail period to 30 years in a case of Vietnam money laundering of $ 17 billion

A Magnate of Vietnamese property who was imprisoned for a lifetime in a money laundering case of $ 17 billion had its sentence cut at 30 years in appeal on Monday after he said that what happened was “an accident.”

Real estate developer Truong my LAN He had already lost a challenge against the death penalty in a separate case in which he was convicted in April last year of stealing money from the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and fraud worth $ 27 billion.

The Court of Appeals ruled that there was no basis to reduce its sentence, but said that she I could still escape the death penalty If he returned three quarters of the stolen assets. That means that it could still avoid the execution if it returns $ 9 billion, or three quarters of the $ 12 billion that it embezzled, the BBC reported.

Four months later, a Court of Appeals in the city of Ho Chi Minh ruled on Monday that a life imprisonment that was given for three crimes for a second trial in October would be reduced to 30 years.

“Lan played the main role … (but) we also take into account the amount of money that Lan has spent overcoming the consequences,” said Judge Pham Cong Muoi after the discussions during the appeal on how their assets can be used to compensate for the victims of their crimes.

Prosecutors said he had paid a quarter of the $ 1.2 billion that defrauded thousands of bond investors.

“The total value of your holdings actually exceeds the required compensation amount,” said lawyer Nguyen Huy Thiep to the BBC before his appeal was rejected. “However, these require time and effort to sell, since many of the assets are real estate and take the time to liquidate. Truong My Lan hopes that the Court can create the most favorable conditions to continue compensation.”

Lan’s husband, Chu Lap CO, did not appeal, but the judges panel concluded that his two -year sentence should be reduced by half after paying the $ 1.2 million that was discovered that he had washed.

In his last words before the court last week, Lan described what happened as “an accident.”

“Since I was imprisoned, I have done my best … look for the best solutions to (deal with my) projects and properties,” said state media.

“Please recognize my effort,” he added.

The Court determined that Lan was “the master mind”

The 68 -year -old man was convicted in October to wash the $ 17.7 billion and illegal cross -border traffic of $ 4.5 billion.

It was also convicted of bond fraud.

The court determined during the trial that Lan was “the intellectual author, committed crime with sophisticated methods, many times, causing especially serious consequences.”

During his first trial in April 2024, Lan was declared guilty of embezzlement of $ 12.5 billion, but prosecutors said that the damage caused by the scam totaled $ 27 billion, equivalent to about 6% of Vietnam GDP.

LAN had only 5% of the SCB shares on paper, but the court concluded that it effectively controlled more than 90% through family, friends and personnel.

Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, which caused rare protests in the communist nation.

During his trial, Lan was sometimes challenging, but in the recent hearings of his appeal against the sentence, he was more contained, the BBC reported. She said she was ashamed of being a drain for the state, and that her only thought was to pay what she had taken.

“I feel sore due to the waste of national resources,” LAN said in November, adding that he felt “very embarrassed to be accused of this crime.”

In:
• Vietnam
• Embezzlement