Let's pay attention to the news of Vietnam's richest woman.
Vietnam's richest woman sentenced to death
Prosecutor: Paying $11 billion can save lives
There have been new developments in the corruption case of Vietnam's richest woman, Zhang Meilan.
Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City High People's Court in Vietnam heard appeals from real estate tycoon Zhang Meilan and 47 other individuals involved in the case. The prosecutor firmly upheld the judgment made in the first instance during the trial on November 26th.
In addition, Vietnamese prosecutors have demanded that Zhang Meilan repay approximately $11 billion (about 80 billion yuan) if she wants to avoid the death penalty by lethal injection.
68 year old Zhang Meilan was sentenced to death for embezzling $12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank in April this year, and she is currently appealing the verdict. In addition, she was convicted of bribing government officials and violating bank loan regulations.
According to her lawyer, during the hearing in Ho Chi Minh City, the prosecutor stated that she would not be granted leniency unless she could find a way to return a significant portion of the 415.7 trillion Vietnamese dong (1.64 billion US dollars) that was found to have been misappropriated in two trials.
Giang Hong Thanh, Zhang Meilan's lawyer, said, "We are currently working hard to help her avoid the death penalty. A group of overseas investors have agreed to lend her $400 million and are currently processing relevant documents for remittance
This is one of the multiple potential investments or loans proposed by her legal team to help Zhang Meilan repay some of her debts. Jiang Hongqing stated that he believes Zhang Meilan can meet the repayment requirements needed to avoid the death penalty. According to Vietnamese law, if she can return three-quarters of the misappropriated assets, the court may consider reducing her sentence at its discretion.
The trial of this real estate tycoon has attracted global attention due to the severity of the verdict. The Vietnamese government has demonstrated its determination to combat high-level corruption through this case.
Earlier this month, when the prosecutor proposed to uphold the death sentence, Zhang Meilan appeared shocked and her voice trembled in court. According to VnExpress, she expressed psychological difficulty accepting this decision. The judges asked her to remain calm and allowed her to sit down to continue her defense, but she refused.
As the former chairman of Van Thinh Phat Group, Zhang Meilan was one of the targets in Vietnam's long-standing anti-corruption campaign "melting pot". The movement was initiated by the late General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phuc Trong, and his successor, the Minister of Public Security, To Lam, stated that he will "resolutely" promote this severe movement that touches all levels of society. Several senior officials and business executives have been detained.
The appeal hearing was originally scheduled to end on November 25th, but was extended due to Zhang Meilan's efforts to return more funds. The court has now adjourned and is expected to make a judgment on Tuesday.
Her lawyer Jiang Hongqing said, "We really hope that the court can give her a chance to survive so that she can continue to repay all her debts
The largest fraud case in Vietnam's history
Zhang Meilan has always been a core figure in the Vietnamese financial industry, with her Wanshengfa Group involved in real estate, finance, catering, hotels and other businesses.
In October 2022, Zhang Meilan was arrested by Vietnamese police on charges of embezzlement of property, bribery, and violation of credit institution loan regulations.
After the news of the arrest was disclosed, it caused a huge uproar in the industry, leading to a run on Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), the fifth largest bank in Vietnam.
In April of this year, after a month long trial, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court sentenced Zhang Meilan to death in the first instance.
The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court stated that Zhang Meilan was convicted of corruption and sentenced to death; Convict of bribery and sentenced to 20 years in prison; Violation of relevant regulations on bank business activities, sentenced to 20 years in prison. Punish multiple crimes and impose the death penalty.
Zhang Meilan is accused of committing fraud through ghost companies, bribing government officials, and illegally controlling Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), Vietnam's fifth largest bank, with a total amount of 30.4 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately 88.6 billion yuan).
The indictment alleges that Zhang Meilan conspired with her accomplices to fraudulently arrange over 2500 loans at Saigon Commercial Bank between 2012 and 2022, providing over 100 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately 300 billion RMB) in loans to Wan Sheng Fa Group and related companies, accounting for 93% of the total loans issued by Saigon Commercial Bank during this period. As of October 17, 2022 (the date of the lawsuit), the outstanding loans exceeded 677 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately 200 billion RMB).
It is worth noting that in 2022, Vietnam's GDP was 9513.3 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately 2.76 trillion RMB), which is close to 1/9 of Vietnam's GDP in 2022 due to the illegal issuance of loans mentioned above.
According to the Vietnam News Agency, from October 2018 to October 2022, Zhang Meilan and her accomplices forged 916 loan documents to meet their personal needs, and fraudulently obtained a total of 30.4 trillion Vietnamese dong (approximately 88.6 billion yuan) from Saigon Commercial Bank.
Bloomberg said, "This is the largest fraud case in the country's history
In addition, Zhang Meilan was charged with bribing the National Bank Supervision Team in order to protect her and Sai Kung Commercial Bank. Vietnamese media reported that the documents involved weighed 6 tons.
Zhang Meilan once stated during the trial that she did not intentionally violate the law, nor did she cause harm to the country and depositors. She is willing to hand over several of her family assets to compensate for the losses caused to Saigon Commercial Bank.
But the prosecutor still sentenced Zhang Meilan to death and 19 to 20 years in prison for the crimes of embezzlement of property, violation of banking regulations, and bribery, totaling the death penalty.