Over the past year, Vietnam has been aggressively cracking down on corruption—a campaign that culminated with Truong My Lan, a 67-year-old former real estate tycoon, being sentenced to death earlier this month for her involvement in the country’s biggest financial fraud case in history.
Lan, a high-profile businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was formally charged with fraud amounting to $12.5 billion—nearly 3% of the country’s 2022 GDP. More than 80 others, including central bank officials, have been implicated in the case, which was first filed in 2022 and has prompted a crackdown on corruption.