Vietnam tycoon on death row has life sentence cut to 30 years in laundering case

Truong My Lan’s life sentence for laundering billions was shortened on Monday – but she still faces the death penalty in a separate case

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Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan (centre) appears at a court in Ho Chi Minh city on March 25. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:32pm, 21 Apr 2025Updated: 6:59pm, 21 Apr 2025

A Vietnamese property tycoon who was jailed for life in a US$17-billion money laundering case had her sentence cut to 30 years on appeal on Monday after she claimed what happened was “an accident”.

Property developer Truong My Lan had already lost a challenge against the death penalty in a separate case in which she was found guilty in April last year of stealing money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and fraud amounting to US$27 billion.

The appeal court ruled there was no basis to reduce her sentence, but said she could still escape the death penalty if she returned three-quarters of the stolen assets.

Four months later, an appeal court in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday ruled that a life sentence she was handed for three crimes during a second trial in October would be reduced to 30 years.

Since being jailed, I have tried my best … to seek the best solutions

Truong My Lan, disgraced Vietnamese property tycoon

“Lan played the major role … [but] we also take into consideration the amount of money that Lan has spent on overcoming the consequences,” judge Pham Cong Muoi said following discussions earlier in the appeal about how her assets may be used to compensate victims of her crimes.

In her final words before the court last week, Lan described what happened as “an accident”.