HANOI: A Vietnamese real estate tycoon was convicted Thursday of fraudulently obtaining property worth billions of dollars and sentenced to life in prison, in a case that has been a centerpiece of the government’s crackdown on corruption.
Truong My Lan was already convicted in April by the same Ho Chi Minh City court of fraud amounting to $12.5 billion — nearly 3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product — in a separate case and sentenced to death by lethal injection.
The trials were broken into two parts due to the number of allegations against her, and Thursday’s verdict adds to Lan’s legal troubles as she awaits the appeal of her death sentence to be heard.
Vietnam has handed down more than 2,000 death sentences in the past decade and executed more than 400 prisoners. It is a possible sentence for 14 different crimes but is generally only applied in cases of murder and drug trafficking.
“Standing here today is a price too expensive for me to pay. I consider this my destiny and a career accident,” the VNexpress online newspaper quoted Lan, the chairwoman of property developer Van Thinh Phat, as telling the judges in her closing statement last week.
“For the rest of my life, I will never forget that my actions have affected tens of thousands of families.”
Nguyen Hieu, a schoolteacher whose life savings of $36,000 is tied up in illegal bonds issued by Lan’s company, said the life sentence was fair.
“She deserves the punishment,” he said, adding that he hoped the death sentence from the first trial is commuted so that Lan has the opportunity to pay back her victims.
All other 33 co-defendants were found guilty of various charges and received sentences ranging from two to 23 years in prison. They included Chu Nap Kee, Lan’s husband, who was sentenced to two years for money laundering.
In addition to obtaining property by fraud, Lan was also convicted of money laundering and illegal cross-border money transfer charges, according to state-run media.
She was accused of raising $1.2 billion from nearly 36,000 investors by issuing bonds illegally through four companies, according to state media reports.
She was also found guilty of siphoning off $18 billion obtained through fraud and for using companies controlled by her to illegally transfer more than $4.5 billion in and out of Vietnam between 2012 and 2022.
It was not immediately clear if Lan would appeal the verdict and no date has yet been set for her appeal of her death penalty conviction to be heard.
In the April conviction, she was found to have orchestrated financial fraud amounting to $12.5 billion for illegally controlling a major bank allowing loans that resulted in losses of $27 billion, according to state media reports.
Lan’s arrest in October 2022 was among the most high-profile in an ongoing anti-corruption drive in Vietnam that has intensified since 2022.
The Communist Party’s “blazing furnace” campaign has also touched the highest echelons of Vietnamese politics.
Former President Vo Van Thuong resigned in March after being implicated in the campaign. Since 2016, thousands of party officials have been disciplined, including former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and the former head of parliament, Vuong Dinh Hue, both of whom resigned.
In all, eight members of the powerful Politburo have been ousted on corruption allegations, compared to none between 1986 and 2016.
The anti-corruption drive began in 2013, but it wasn’t until 2018 that authorities began scanning the private sector. Since then, several owners of Vietnam’s fast-growing businesses have been arrested.
The campaign had been the hallmark of Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s top politician. who died earlier this year at age 80.
The ideologue had called corruption a grave threat to the party and vowed that the campaign would be a “blazing furnace” in which no one was untouchable.
In another high-profile case, business tycoon Trinh Van Quyet was found guilty in August of defrauding stockholders of nearly $150 million by falsely inflating the value of his company.
The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Quyet to 21 years in prison and convicted 49 co-defendants on a variety charges, with sentences ranging from probation to multiple years in prison.
Lan and her family established the Van Thinh Phat company in 1992 after Vietnam shifted from a state-run economy to a more market-oriented approach that was open to foreign investors. She started out helping her mother, a Chinese entrepreneur, sell cosmetics in Ho Chi Minh City’s oldest market, according to the state media outlet Tien Phong.
Van Thinh Phat became one of Vietnam’s richest real estate companies, with projects including luxury residential buildings, offices, hotels and shopping centers. This made her a key player in the country’s financial industry.
Lan’s first trial shocked many Vietnamese.
Analysts said the scale of the scam raised questions about whether other banks or businesses had similarly erred, dampening Vietnam’s economic outlook and making foreign investors jittery at a time when Vietnam is trying to position itself as the ideal home for businesses trying to diversify supply chains away from China.
Vietnamese real estate tycoon sentenced to life for billions in fraud in government graft crackdown
https://arab.news/5svyt
Vietnamese real estate tycoon sentenced to life for billions in fraud in government graft crackdown
- Truong My Lan was already convicted in April by the same Ho Chi Minh City court of fraud amounting to $12.5 billion
- The trials were broken into two parts due to the number of allegations against the real estate tycoon
Lithuania says ‘long night ahead’ in US soldiers search
The Lithuanian army said earlier they were “moving forward” on their goal to “turn the swamp into water so divers can jump in“
PABRADE, Lithuania: Lithuania’s defense minister said on Friday that rescuers faced “another long night” in their operation to recover the submerged vehicle of four missing US soldiers.
Authorities from the Baltic state received a report on Tuesday that the soldiers had disappeared during a military drill on a training ground in the eastern city of Pabrade, near the border with Belarus.
Search and rescue teams were at the scene on Friday, using heavy military equipment and excavators to remove silt from the body of water where the vehicle had been located.
“Another long night ahead,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Dovile Sakaliene said on social network X.
The Lithuanian army said earlier they were “moving forward” on their goal to “turn the swamp into water so divers can jump in.”
The US army said on Friday it was sending a specialized US Navy dive crew that was “expected to arrive on site within the next 24 hours.”
Local and foreign troops, along with helicopters from the air force and the state border guard service, have been deployed in the search effort.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said he was “still hoping for a miracle.”
“Although many skeptics would probably say that there is nothing to hope for in these circumstances, I want to believe,” he told reporters.
The M88 Hercules armored recovery vehicle the missing US soldiers had been operating was found several meters deep in a swamp connected to a nearby lake.
“The area around the site is incredibly wet and marshy and doesn’t support the weight of the equipment,” US Army Europe and Africa’s public affairs office said in a statement.
“Draining the area has been slow and difficult due to ground water seepage,” it added.
“This will be a long and difficult recovery operation, but we are absolutely committed to bringing our soldiers home,” said Curtis Taylor, Commanding General of the 1st Armored Division.
The main goal was to remove the mud from the submerged vehicle and identify possible attachment points for extraction, Lithuanian Armed Forces chief General Raimundas Vaiksnoras said.
Lithuania, a NATO and EU member, hosts more than 1,000 American troops stationed on a rotational basis.
Spain’s PM urges Washington to reconsider tariff ‘nonsense’
- “Today, from here, I’d like to make a call again to the US administration to reconsider and open dialogue with the European Commission,” Sanchez told an economic event in Madrid
- Ribera likened Trump’s trade policy to the behavior of a “schoolyard bully“
MADRID: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and European Commission Vice President Teresa Ribera on Friday urged the United States to reconsider new tariffs on goods from Europe and open a dialogue with Brussels to stop what Sanchez described as “nonsense.”
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the United States will charge a 25 percent import tariff on all cars. On Thursday, the Commission said the European Union was preparing a “robust, calibrated” response.
“Today, from here, I’d like to make a call again to the US administration to reconsider and open dialogue with the European Commission and stop this nonsense,” Sanchez told an economic event in Madrid.
Speaking at the same event, Ribera — who served as energy minister under Sanchez and is now the bloc’s antitrust chief — said the EU “misses the relationship of solidarity with the United States and we hope we can return to it,” adding there was always space to talk and find solutions.
She likened Trump’s trade policy to the behavior of a “schoolyard bully.”
“Europe cannot remain silent in the face of such aggression,” she added. “We’re reaching our limit and the next steps will require more Europe, and more unity in terms of security.”
Trump, Carney say they had a productive call, Canadian tariffs still coming
- The phone call was the first contact since Carney won the leadership of Canada’s ruling Liberals on March 9
- Carney has said that Trump’s threat of tariffs is a betrayal of a once close economic and security relationship
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Mark Carney on Friday had a conversation that both men described as productive, although the Canadian leader said Ottawa would be imposing retaliatory tariffs next week as promised.
The phone call was the first contact since Carney won the leadership of Canada’s ruling Liberals on March 9. Carney has said that Trump’s threat of tariffs is a betrayal of a once close economic and security relationship.
“It was an extremely productive call, we agree on many things, and will be meeting immediately after Canada’s upcoming Election to work on elements of Politics, Business, and all other factors,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
That work “will end up being great for both the United States of America and Canada,” he added. Carney on Thursday vowed to transform Canada’s economy to be less dependent on the United States. Trump’s tariff announcement is expected on April 2. Ottawa has made clear for months that it will impose countermeasures.
“The Prime Minister informed the President that his government will implement retaliatory tariffs to protect Canadian workers and our economy, following the announcement of additional US trade actions on April 2, 2025,” Carney’s office said in a statement.
The United States and its northern neighbor have long been close allies and trading partners. But relations deteriorated after Trump, a Republican who took office in January, upended the relationship with tariff threats and repeated comments about annexing the country.
Trump referred to Carney as the Canadian prime minister rather than as the governor of the 51st US state, the term he often used to describe former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Carney said the two leaders had agreed to begin comprehensive negotiations about a new economic and security relationship immediately after an election on April 28.
Malaysian couple completes Ramadan fasting journey through Asia to perform Umrah
- Farhan Mokhali and Ainaa Fakhira crossed seven countries on the way to Saudi Arabia
- On the last day of Ramadan, they are traveling to Malaysia to celebrate Eid at home
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian backpackers who traveled through seven countries to reach Saudi Arabia for Umrah have completed their 30-day Ramadan journey, fasting with Muslim communities they visited along the way.
Farhan Mokhali, 28, and Ainaa Fakhira, 27, started their journey from Padang Besar, a town bordering Thailand in the northern part of the Malaysian state of Perlis.
“The inspiration and idea solely came from Ainaa. She is the one who has always dreamed of being a backpacker and traveling around the world since she was a teenager,” Mokhali told Arab News.
“After several years of postponing the dream, in 2025 she decided to pursue it because she didn’t want to wait any longer.”
From Hatyai on the other side of the border, they reached Bangkok and traveled to Vientiane in Laos, from where they crossed to Kunming in China and traveled to Xi’an and further to Khorgos, where they entered Kazakhstan.
There the land journey had to end when they faced problems in obtaining visas to Turkmenistan and Syria.
Within 30 days, they visited seven countries, taking 10 trains, three buses and two aeroplanes.
Self-employed and running a media startup, they kept on working during their travel, which they estimate cost them about $4,300 in total.
While the journey took place during Ramadan, both kept on fasting as they experienced the cultures of various Muslim communities that they met on their way.
“We camped in the snow in negative temperatures and hiked 15 km during snowfall just to experience the Altyn Arashan hot springs while fasting in Kyrgyzstan. We loved every part of this journey since it gave us the chance to spend more quality time together and learn a lot of new things,” Mokhali said.
“We are also thankful to have had the opportunity to experience the beauty of Ramadan in other countries. We experienced different cultures, like iftar with the locals, Taraweeh at different mosques in several countries, and many more Ramadan traditions.”
Last week they reached Madinah, from where they traveled to Makkah to complete their pilgrimage.
It was the best part of their journey because they could experience Umrah together, Mokhali said, as they packed to return home on Saturday, right before the end of the fasting month.
“We are going to celebrate Eid in Malaysia,” he added. “We are going back to Malaysia tomorrow. We haven’t experienced Ramadan in our country this year yet.”
Sweet treat: Peshawar store shares secrets of the ‘most beautiful’ shakes in town
- Ameer Sahib Juice Shop’s offerings — served in glasses decorated with nuts and dried fruit — have become an iftar favorite
- Customers from around Pakistan pay up to $6 to enjoy drinks’ unique presentation, flavor
PESHAWAR: Mohammed Ibrahim stood in his store, Ameer Sahib Juice Shop, earlier this month and fixed whole pistachios, cashew nuts, almonds, walnuts, and raisins to a large milkshake glass covered in a gooey paste.
He was preparing the glass for what many in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar describe as the “most unique” and “most beautifully presented” shakes in town.
Ibrahim and his brother, Ismail, co-owners of the shop they set up in 2005, grind dates, honey, and chocolate to prepare a soft and sticky paste that they carefully apply on the outside of each glass before the dried fruits are applied. The end product is a glass that looks like it is made entirely of dried fruit.
Into the glass are poured thick shakes made from a variety of seasonal fruits, with more edible decorations added on top to finish the offering. The drinks have become a social media hit, and are loved by customers who throng the shop in Ramadan and throughout the rest of the year.
“It takes at least 15-20 minutes to prepare the glass,” Ibrahim told Arab News at Peshawar’s historic Namak Mandi, where his store is located. “We make it in the morning and serve it at iftar time.”
Different sizes of the shakes retail for between $2 and $6, expensive for a city like Peshawar. But many people are still willing to pay due to the drinks’ unique presentation and taste.
“People from different parts of the country come for this dried fruit juice,” Ibrahim said, saying he regularly served customers from cities across KP province, as well as from the Punjab province and the federal capital, Islamabad.
Ayub Sher, a resident of KP’s Bajaur district who works in Peshawar, visited Ibrahim’s shop last week and was full of praise for the shakes.
“We came here to try this juice and to see if it has taste or not. When we tried it, we found it that it is fantastic,” he told Arab News as he scooped some of the thick shake out of the glass with a long spoon.
“Forget about the taste, we haven’t seen any juice presented to us this beautifully.”
