The 67-year-old president of the real estate company, Van Thinh Phat, was convicted of orchestrating Vietnam's largest financial fraud case, amounting to $12.5 billion (almost 3% of the country's GDP in 2022) and of illegally controlling a major bank that allowed bad loans $27 billion
Her arrest and conviction was one of the biggest cases in the country in a government crackdown on corruption that has intensified since 2022. Lan is on trial on new charges of embezzlement and money laundering. According to a police investigation, he raised $1.2 billion from nearly 36,000 investors by illegally issuing bonds through four companies, state media reported.
Authorities investigating the case found 21 companies controlled by Lan's Van Thinh Phat illegally moved more than $4.5 billion in and out of Vietnam between 2012-2022.
She is also accused of siphoning off $18 billion obtained through fraud. Another 33 defendants are also involved in the case, which is estimated according to the publication to last a month.
Lan and her family founded Van Thing Phat in 1992 and it has grown into one of Vietnam's richest real estate companies, with projects including luxury residential buildings, offices, hotels and shopping malls.
