Trial begins in Vietnam's largest, multi-billion-dollar financial scam

HANOI — The trial in Vietnam's largest financial fraud case on record begins on Tuesday (March 5), with nearly 90 defendants accused of being part of a US$12 billion (S$16 billion) scam, for which some of them risk the death penalty.

The trial, expected to last until the end of April at the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City, is part of a much wider campaign against corruption in the country which the leader of the ruling Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, has pledged for years to stamp out, with no tangible results yet.

The anti-graft drive has led in recent months to multiple high-profile arrests and the resignation of top figures, including the country's former president last year, but the trial for the chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group is unprecedented for its scale, with thousands expected to be summoned and about two hundred lawyers participating in the proceedings, according to state media.

Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan and her accomplices are accused of syphoning off 304 trillion dong ($16.53 billion) from the country's largest bank by assets, Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), which Lan effectively controlled through dozens of proxies, according to investigators.

A lawyer for Lan declined comment.

If proved, it could be one of the largest financial frauds in Asia. Malaysia's 1MDB corruption scandal involved for instance only about US$4.5 billion.

From early 2018 through October 2022, when SCB was bailed out by the state after a run on its deposits, Lan appropriated large sums by arranging unlawful loans to shell companies, according to public investigators.

Another US$1.2 billion was lost by holders of bonds issued by Van Thinh Phat, Lan's real estate firm, according to