Truong My Lan, the chair of the developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery and violations of banking rules yesterday, in a case that has shocked the country.
A total of $12.5bn (£10bn) was embezzled, the equivalent of almost 3% of Vietnamese gross domestic product, but prosecutors said yesterday the total damages caused by the scam now amounted to $27bn.
"The defendant's actions... eroded people's trust in the leadership of the [Communist] party and state," read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City.
Lan was found guilty of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. She had been tried alongside 85 others, including former central bankers and government officials, as well as previous SCB executives.
The trial is part of a national corruption crackdown led by the secretary general of the Communist party of Vietnam, Nguyen Phu Trong.
The campaign, which is known as "Blazing Furnace" and has increased in recent years, has led to the indictment of thousands of people, as well as the resignation of two presidents and two deputy prime ministers.
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