NextShark
Vietnam is facing its largest banking scandal, with the recent arrest of real estate developer, Truong My Lan, accused of embezzling around 304 trillion dong (approximately $12.4 billion). The embezzlement: On Nov. 17, Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security alleged that Truong, the 79-year-old chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group, embezzled from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), where she was a majority stakeholder. Over several years, Truong allegedly operated over 1,000 domestic and foreign subsidiaries and shell companies, securing more than $43 billion in loans from SCB, with approximately one-third of this sum misappropriated through the creation of "ghost companies" by Truong, her family and associates.