Death row tycoon vows to turn empire into ‘golden goose'
A PROPERTY tycoon trying to avoid a death sentence for multi-billion-dollar fraud has promised to turn her property empire into a 'golden goose' to help pay back the assets she embezzled, her lawyer said.
Property developer Truong My Lan lost an appeal in December against the death penalty in a case in which she was found guilty of stealing money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and fraud amounting to US$27bil (RM116bil).
The appeal court ruled there was no basis to reduce her sentence but said she could still escape the death penalty if she paid back three-quarters of the amount stolen.
In a letter sent from jail to a state-controlled committee handling her properties, Lan said her assets have been significantly undervalued, causing potential losses to the state and affecting her rights, her lawyer Giang Hong Thanh said.
Lan said the government-appointed company that valued 726 of her assets, several of them real estate projects in prime areas of Vietnam's biggest cities, had estimated their worth at around US$9.7bil (RM42bil).
But Lan argued in the wake of new land price guidelines issued by authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, where most of the projects are situated, that their value had likely increased by three to five times.
She added that if her other 440 assets were valued, the state could collect another US$7.7bil (RM33bil) at least.
'I believe that with my 30-year experience in the real estate business and my thorough legal understanding, I could turn most of the assets into a golden goose so that the state can recover the costs,' Lan wrote in her letter, pleading for authorities to allow her involvement.
Tens of thousands of people who invested their savings in SCB lost money, shocking the communist nation and prompting rare protests from the victims.
In a second appeal trial in April, Lan's life sentence in a separate US$17bil (RM73bil) money laundering case was cut to 30 years.
Prosecutors said she had repaid a quarter of the US$1.2bil (RM5.2bil) she defrauded from thousands of bond investors. — AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Sun
8 minutes ago
- The Sun
Tycoon who brought F1 to Singapore pleads guilty in graft case
SINGAPORE: A Malaysian hotel tycoon who helped bring Formula One to Singapore pleaded guilty Monday to abetting the obstruction of justice, in a rare corruption case in the city-state that saw a former transport minister jailed last year. Singapore-based billionaire Ong Beng Seng, 79, was charged in October last year with helping former transport minister S. Iswaran cover up evidence in a graft investigation. He was also accused of showering Iswaran with lavish gifts, including tickets to the 2017 Singapore Formula One Grand Prix, flights on a private jet, business class travel and a luxury hotel stay. Ong entered his guilty plea from a glass-encased dock at a district court in downtown Singapore on Monday. Prosecutors sought a two-month jail term after Ong agreed to plead guilty. He will be sentenced on August 15. But prosecutors also agreed with defence lawyers that the court could exercise 'judicial mercy' in view of Ong's poor health -- which could further reduce any sentence. Defence lawyers pleaded for clemency, saying their septuagenarian client suffered from a litany of serious ailments, including an incurable form of cancer. They asked for a 'stiff fine' instead of actual jail time. 'The risks to Mr. Ong's life increase dramatically in prison,' lawyer Cavinder Bull told the court, saying prison could not give his client sufficient care. 'This man is living on the edge,' Bull added. The Attorney General's Chambers said in a statement that after 'considering the medical evidence before the Court', the prosecutors did not object to imposing a fine instead of jail time. The trial of Malaysia-born Ong had attracted significant media attention due to his links with Iswaran and the affluent city-state's reputation as one of the world's least corrupt nations. Ong owns Singapore-based Hotel Properties Limited and is the rights holder to the Singapore Grand Prix Formula One race. He and Iswaran were instrumental in bringing the Formula One night race on a street circuit to Singapore in 2008. In July 2023, Ong was arrested as part of a graft probe involving Iswaran and was subsequently released on bail. In October last year, Iswaran was jailed for 12 months after he pleaded guilty to accepting illegal gifts worth more than Sg$400,000 ($310,000). He was also found guilty of obstructing justice, in the city-state's first political graft trial in nearly half a century. Iswaran completed his sentence on June 6. - AFP
The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
Consortium pushes for Whyalla plant
A view of the interior of a part of the BlueScope steelworks, Port Kembla, Australia February 9, 2024. REUTERS/Lewis Jackson/File Photo SYDNEY: Australia's BlueScope Steel says it has assembled a heavyweight consortium of global steelmakers to bid for Sanjeev Gupta's troubled Whyalla Steelworks, over a month after the local government formally opened a sale process. The group, comprising Japan's Nippon Steel, India's JSW Steel and South Korea's Posco, brings a combined market value of A$115bil (US$74.4bil), and is eyeing the South Australian plant as a future hub for low-emissions iron production for domestic and export markets. The consortium has lodged a non-binding expression of interest but has yet to submit a formal bid. Whyalla Steelworks was placed in administration in February, after its operating company collapsed under tens of millions in debt. The Australian and South Australian governments stepped in with a joint A$1.9bil rescue package to safeguard local jobs and preserve a key piece of industrial infrastructure. Australia formally opened the sale process in June, citing strong global interest from companies seeking a foothold in the emerging green steel economy. Gupta's family conglomerate, GFG Alliance, was not immediately reachable for a Reuters request for comment. — Reuters
The Star
20 minutes ago
- The Star
Melco Resorts eyes global casino expansion
New development: Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan (centre) receives a present from chairman of John Keells Holdings Krishan Balendra (right) and Ho (left) during the opening ceremony of 'City of Dreams' in Colombo. The project is a US$1.2bil joint venture. — AFP HONG KONG: Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd is in talks to expand its brand beyond Macau, with plans to ramp up an asset-light strategy by teaming up with local partners to co-run multi-billion-dollar casino projects, chief executive officer Lawrence Ho says. The approach would help the group reduce debt and capture growth opportunities in emerging markets, Ho, who is also Melco's founder, said in a video interview with Bloomberg News from Colombo. He is in the Sri Lankan capital to open a casino resort – its first project under the new strategy. 'Having these new opportunities come up, our asset-light strategy allows us to do those and also have management fees and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) associated with it, without committing serious capital,' Ho said. He didn't name the new markets the company is exploring, but said the group may reveal more details about its efforts within the next 12 to 18 months. Melco has racked up more than US$7bil of debt, the highest among Macau's six casino operators, after its global expansion was disrupted by three years of Covid curbs in China that limited tourism. The group is now focusing on reducing its borrowings as Macau's growth potential has been constrained by Beijing's crackdown on high rollers and tighter regulations. Melco is pursuing its asset-light strategy expansion as countries from the United Arab Emirates to Japan and Thailand look to boost tourism by legalising casinos. The group in February announced plans to explore a sale of its Manila resort to help cut debt and free up capital. Ho had previously described Thailand's casino legalisation efforts 'a generational opportunity'. However, Thailand's plan has stalled after the government withdrew the bill last month amid public opposition and political turmoil. The delay could benefit the group, Ho said, giving the company more time to cut debt and increase capital. City of Dreams Sri Lanka is a US$1.2bil joint development between Melco and the country's major conglomerate John Keells Holdings Plc. Melco has invested about US$125mil and will operate the gaming floors and some accommodations. The project includes 800 luxury hotel rooms and suites, convention facilities and premium retail spaces. The group also operates a casino resort in Cyprus and is exploring ways to recoup part of its investment, Ho said. Options include replacing some of the initial shareholders' loans with bank loans or bringing in strategic investors, he added. Melco posted US$378mil in adjusted property Ebitda for the three months ended June, up 25% year-on-year, and beating analysts' expectations. The performance follows a boom in Macau's non-gaming activities, including concerts and entertainment shows, as well as a bullish stock market in Hong Kong and mainland China. The company has stepped up its non-gaming offerings in Macau, including the May relaunch of the long-running show, The House of Dancing Water. The show, which takes place in a 2,000-seat theater, has helped boost footfall by about a third, Ho said, creating opportunities for the group to attract more visitors to its gaming floors. 'The House of Dancing Water has helped a lot on the non-gaming, including packages with hotels and restaurants,' said Ho. — Bloomberg
