HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM —
Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan is set to go on trial next month, along with 85 alleged accomplices, on charges of embezzling about $12.5 billion from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank.
Lan faces a sentence of 20 years to life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. VOA was unable to contact Lan or her lawyers.
The corruption case is the largest instance of alleged financial fraud in the Southeast Asian nation’s history, and experts say it reveals weaknesses in Vietnam’s banking sector that threaten the Communist Party’s legitimacy.
“If…
