Thu Sep 19 02:07:00 UTC 2024: ## Vietnamese Tycoon Facing New Trial for Financial Fraud, Despite Death Sentence

**HANOI** – Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, already sentenced to death for a separate financial fraud, faces a new trial starting today on additional charges. Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, is accused of obtaining property by fraud, money laundering, and illegal cross-border money transfers.

This trial is part of Vietnam’s ongoing anti-graft campaign known as “Blazing Furnace”, which has seen several high-profile business executives and state officials jailed in recent years. The proceedings, expected to last a month, will take place in Ho Chi Minh City and involve 33 of Lan’s alleged accomplices. Authorities anticipate up to 1,000 people to attend each day.

The new charges against Lan stem from accusations that she illegally raised 30 trillion dong (approximately $1.2 billion) through bond issuance, illegally transferred $4.5 billion in and out of Vietnam, and laundered 445 trillion dong ($18.1 billion).

This trial comes after Lan was sentenced to death in April for embezzlement, bribery, and violations of banking rules in a separate 304 trillion dong financial fraud case, the largest on record in Vietnam.

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