by Khanh Vu
HANOI, April 11 (Reuters) – A Vietnamese court sentenced businesswoman Truong My Lan to the death penalty for her involvement in a financial fraud valued at 304 billion dong (11.33 million euros) , the largest ever unearthed in the country, state media said.
His trial, which began on March 5, is part of a national campaign against corruption that the leader of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, has been committed to eradicating for years.
Truong My Lan, boss of real estate giant Van Thinh Phat Holdings, was found guilty of embezzlement, corruption and violation of banking regulations, state media reported.
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Truong My Lan had pleaded not guilty to charges of embezzlement and corruption, Nguyen Huy Thiep, one of his lawyers, told Reuters.
“Of course, she will appeal the verdict,” he added, specifying that she had been sentenced to the death penalty for the embezzlement and to 20 years in prison for each of the other two counts. , namely corruption and violation of banking regulations.
Vietnam imposes the death penalty mainly for blood crimes, but also for financial crimes.
The country has executed hundreds of convicts in recent years, mostly by lethal injection, according to human rights groups.
According to the Thanh Nien newspaper, 84 defendants in the case were sentenced to sentences ranging from three years’ probation to life imprisonment. Among them, Truong My Lan’s husband, Eric Chu, a Hong Kong businessman, was sentenced to nine years in prison, and his niece to 17 years in prison.
(Reporting Francesco Guarascio; French version Federica Mileo, edited by Sophie Louet)
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