According to the first-instance judgment in April, Zhang Meilan was sentenced to 20 years in prison for "violating the loan regulations of financial institutions", the death penalty for "corruption", and 20 years for "bribery". Three crimes And the penalty is death. The second trial of this case was held from November 4 to 25.
In addition, the court sentenced Zhang Meilan on three counts of property fraud, money laundering and illegal cross-border transportation of currency on October 17. The jury sentenced Zhang Meilan to life imprisonment for property fraud, 12 years for money laundering, and 8 years for illegal cross-border currency transportation. After the multiple crimes were combined, Zhang Meilan's total sentence was life imprisonment.
Case of the richest woman in Vietnam: Zhang Meilan appeared in court on April 11, 2024 (screenshot from the video)
According to the Vietnam News Agency, the indictment of the Supreme People's Procuratorate of Vietnam stated that Zhang Meilan had established a Wanshengfa ecosystem consisting of 1,000 subsidiaries and joint ventures, and then handed it over to relatives and family members for management. Although the defendant Zhang Meilan did not hold a position in SCB Bank, she became a major shareholder of the bank, holding 85% to 91.5% of the shares.
Truong My Lan was also accused of using her position as a major shareholder of Saigon Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SCB) to instruct SCB leaders to withdraw funds from the bank for personal purposes, causing losses of approximately VND 498 trillion to SCB and causing the bank to completely lose liquidity. Sex, huge loans cannot be recovered.
The public indictment shows that Zhang Meilan’s crime was divided into two stages: from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2017, she violated regulations on bank operating activities and caused losses of more than 64 trillion VND to Saigon Commercial Bank; From January 1, 2018 to October 7, 2022, Zhang Meilan was suspected of corruption. The misappropriated assets and interest generated caused losses of 433 trillion Vietnamese dong to the bank.
In addition, Zhang Meilan committed a "bribery crime" for paying bribes to the National Bank Supervision Team in order to cover her and SCB Bank's illegal activities. She was also a victim in a case involving the defendant Nguyen Gao Zhi's "violation of credit institution loan regulations."
So far, prosecutors have not agreed to reduce her punishment unless she can find a way to return most of the VND415.7 trillion she was found guilty of embezzling in two separate trials, her lawyer said. Bloomberg said that according to Vietnamese law, if Zhang Meilan can return three-quarters of the assets involved in the case, her sentence may be reduced.
Her lawyer said they are trying their best to help her avoid the death penalty and believe they can meet the requirements needed to avoid the death penalty. A group of overseas investors have agreed to lend $400 million and are preparing the documents needed to remit the money.
Case of the richest woman in Vietnam: Zhang Meilan in the Ho Chi Minh City court on April 11, 2024 (screenshot from the video)
Zhang Meilan's lawyer said: "We really hope the court can give her a chance to live so that she can repay all her debts."
Zhang Meilan was born in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam in October 1956. The Van Thanh Fat Group she founded is one of the largest real estate groups in Vietnam, and her family is regarded as one of the richest families in Vietnam.
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