A Vietnamese property tycoon who lost her appeal against the death penalty is now appealing a life sentence from a separate trial where she was found guilty of money laundering, according to state media on Thursday ( Dec 12 ).
Property designer Truong My Lan, 68, was found guilty in April of swindling income from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), which lawyers claimed she controlled, and given a death sentence for fraud totaling US$$ 27 billion.
Tens of thousands of banks depositors lost income, shocking the socialist country and provoking sporadic protests from the patients.
Lan filed an appeal against that ruling, and the judge last week determined there was no way to lower her sentence, but that she could also avoid the death penalty if she returned three-quarters of the stolen goods.
She is now appealing the outcome of her appeal from a second trial held in October, which resulted in a life sentence for three acts.
She was found guilty of unlawful cross-border income trafficking and money laundering totaling US$ 17.7 billion.
Additionally, she was found guilty of bribe-fraud, resulting in US$ 1.2 billion in friendship scams.
The jury determined that Lan was” the genius, committed the crime with sophisticated techniques, several times, causing especially critical consequences”.