The $12.5 billion fraud that has shocked Vietnam
Source: Agence France-Presse
The $12.5 billion fraud that has shocked Vietnam
Alice Philipson and Tran Thi Minh Ha
Wed, January 31, 2024 at 12:27 AM EST·4 min read
Retired nurse Nga put her life savings into a bond at Vietnam's SCB bank, but now cannot access her money after being caught up with tens of thousands in a multibillion-dollar scam that has shocked the nation.
Now, property tycoon Truong My Lan is facing a trial in the country's biggest ever fraud case, accused of embezzling $12.5 billion by investigators after being arrested in a national corruption crackdown analysts say has hit the economy and unsettled foreign investors.
Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, is said to have swindled the cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) for years, leaving unsuspecting investors out of pocket and leading hundreds to stage rare protests in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
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Between February 2019 and September 2022, 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.
Her alleged asset appropriation is equivalent to around three percent of Vietnam's 2022 GDP.
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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/12-5-billion-fraud-shocked-052702145.html