Truong My Lan is a Vietnamese entrepreneur best known as the founder and principal owner of the Vạn Thịnh Phát property group. This conglomerate has expanded rapidly, amassing an extensive property portfolio in Ho Chi Minh City, making it one of Vietnam’s largest real estate companies. Since the early 1990s, Truong My Lan has built a formidable business network, particularly in the real estate and financial sectors. However, behind her business success, she was involved in illegal financial practices that ultimately led to one of the largest corruption scandals in Vietnam’s history.
Truong My Lan came from a business-oriented family. With strong connections and sharp business acumen, she successfully built her empire. However, her company’s aggressive expansion soon attracted the attention of financial and legal authorities, especially when several suspicious financial transactions began to emerge.
The case against Truong My Lan stemmed from her illegal control over Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), one of Vietnam’s largest private banks. She exploited her influence over the bank to embezzle massive amounts of funds. Since 2012, she had allegedly orchestrated fraudulent loans and illicit financial transactions, resulting in state losses totaling $12.5 billion (BBC, 2024).
Her modus operandi involved directing bank loans to fictitious companies affiliated with her, diverting the funds for personal and business interests without any intention of repayment. This triggered instability in Vietnam’s financial sector and significantly impacted public trust in the national banking system (VNEconomy, 2024).
Furthermore, investigations revealed that numerous banking and political officials were involved in the corrupt scheme. Evidence indicated that Truong My Lan had built a collusion network with high-ranking officials to shield her illicit activities. The Vietnamese government’s probe eventually uncovered that the embezzled funds were used for various overseas investments and asset holdings in multiple countries (BBC, 2024).
In 2023, Vietnamese authorities launched an extensive investigation into the scandal. The legal proceedings, which implicated more than 80 suspects, uncovered substantial evidence of illegal transactions and testimonies from bank officials who were also complicit.
During the trial, prosecutors presented extensive documentation and witness testimonies proving Truong My Lan’s involvement in bank fund manipulation and bribery of high-ranking officials. They emphasized that this was one of the largest corruption scandals in Vietnam’s history, with far-reaching effects on the national economy (VNEconomy, 2024).
In April 2024, after more than a month of trial and deliberation, a Vietnamese court sentenced Truong My Lan to death after finding her guilty of embezzlement, abuse of power, and bribery. This marked one of the harshest sentences in Vietnam’s anti-corruption history (BBC, 2024).
Specifically, Truong My Lan was sentenced to death for “Property Embezzlement”; 20 years in prison for “Bribery” as stipulated in Article 353, Paragraph 4, and Article 364, Paragraph 4 of the Vietnam Penal Code 2015 (amended in 2017); and 20 years in prison for “Violating Banking Regulations and Other Banking-Related Activities” as stipulated in Article 179, Paragraph 3 of the Vietnam Penal Code 1999. The total punishment imposed was the death penalty.
In September 2024, Truong My Lan faced another trial with additional charges, including fraud in property acquisition, money laundering, and illegal cross-border money transfers. She was accused of illegally raising 30 trillion dong ($1.2 billion) through bond issuance, transferring $4.5 billion abroad, and laundering 445 trillion dong ($18.1 billion).
However, in December 2024, the court ruled that her death sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment if she managed to return 75% of the embezzled funds, approximately $9.3 billion. As of now, it remains uncertain whether she can meet this requirement (The Guardian, 2024).
According to the panel of judges, although the defendants had varying levels of understanding of their crimes, all admitted their wrongdoing during the trial. Truong My Lan claimed that she had only placed her assets in SCB Bank for restructuring purposes and denied allegations that she owned 91.5% of SCB Bank, asserting that she only held about 5% of the shares.
Regulation of the Death Penalty for Corruption Cases in Indonesia
In Indonesia, the death penalty for corruption is stipulated in Article 2, Paragraph (2) of Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption Crimes, which states:
“In the event that the criminal act of corruption as referred to in Paragraph (1) is committed under certain circumstances, the death penalty may be imposed.”
The phrase “certain circumstances” in this article is further explained in the Elucidation of Article 2, Paragraph (2), which states that the death penalty can be imposed if corruption crimes are committed:
- In an emergency situation such as a natural disaster, economic crisis, or a condition that threatens national security.
- Under conditions that cause significant financial or economic losses to the state.
However, despite this provision, the application of the death penalty for corruption in Indonesia remains a subject of debate. To date, no corrupt official in the reform era has ever been sentenced to death and executed (Detik, 2021).
Several major corruption cases have been proposed for the death penalty but ultimately resulted in prison sentences. Some notable cases that nearly resulted in a death sentence include:
1. Jusuf Muda Dalam (1960s)
The only corrupt official ever executed in Indonesia. Jusuf Muda Dalam, a former Director of the Central Bank, was found guilty of misappropriating state funds. He was executed following a presidential decree issued by Soekarno, who sought to take firm action against corruption at the time (Detik, 2021).
2. Juliari Batubara (Former Minister of Social Affairs, 2020)
Involved in the corruption of COVID-19 social assistance funds, harming the public during the pandemic emergency. Despite calls for the death penalty, he was sentenced to only 12 years in prison (Tempo, 2024).
3. Surya Darmadi (Corruption Case of Rp 78 Trillion, 2023)
The owner of PT Duta Palma, involved in large-scale corruption in the palm oil plantation sector. Prosecutors sought the death penalty due to the severe impact on the state, but he was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment (Tempo, 2024).
4. Gayus Tambunan (Tax Mafia Case, 2010)
Although his case resulted in significant financial losses for the state, the death penalty was never applied. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison instead.
The enforcement of the death penalty for corruption cases remains a legal, political, and human rights debate in Indonesia. Arguments for and against its implementation include:
- Proponents argue that corruption causing significant state losses, especially during crises, is comparable to severe crimes like terrorism and premeditated murder. Therefore, the death penalty is seen as an effective deterrent (Tempo, 2024).
- Opponents argue that the death penalty contradicts human rights principles and that rehabilitation is more important than execution. Moreover, corruption often involves multiple parties, making capital punishment for one individual insufficient to resolve systemic issues (BBC, 2024).
Although Law No. 31 of 1999 allows for the possibility of the death penalty for corruptors, it has never been enforced in the reform era. However, cases like Truong My Lan’s in Vietnam demonstrate that other countries take a much harsher stance on major corruption scandals. This could serve as a point of reflection for Indonesia in reconsidering its policies on capital punishment for corrupt officials.
Source :
- “Vietnamese property tycoon must repay $9.3 billion to avoid execution” – The Times
- “Vietnam court may commute tycoon’s death sentences if she repays $11 billion” – AP News
- “Vietnamese tycoon faces scramble to raise billions to avoid death sentence” – The Guardian
- “Downfall of Vietnam’s real estate tycoon: Truong My Lan sentenced to death for massive banking fraud” – VNEconomy
- “Vietnamese businesswoman sentenced to death in country’s biggest fraud case” – BBC
- “Jejak Jusuf Muda Dalam: Terpidana Pertama yang Dihukum Mati di Kasus Korupsi” – Detik
- “5 Koruptor Ini Nyaris Vonis Hukuman Mati” – Tempo
- “Jejak Jusuf Muda Dalam: Terpidana Pertama yang Dihukum Mati di Kasus Korupsi” – Detik, 2021.
- “5 Koruptor Ini Nyaris Vonis Hukuman Mati” – Tempo, 2024.
- “Vietnamese businesswoman sentenced to death in country’s biggest fraud case” – BBC, 2024.
- Law Number 31 Year 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption.
- Law Number 20 of 2001 concerning Amendments to Law Number 31 of 1999.
