HO CHI MINH CITY: A Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud totalling US$27 billion went on trial Thursday (Sep 19) in a linked case accused of money laundering.8win gaming

Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, was found guilty in April of swindling cash from the Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) for over a decade in one of the biggest corruption cases in history.

Lan and 33 other defendants were brought to the court in Ho Chi Minh City early Thursday in a convoy of police vans, as more than a dozen fraud victims waited outside demanding to be let in to the hearing.

Security was tight as Lan - wearing a face mask and flanked by police officers - sat down for the start of a month-long trial in which she and her co-defendants face new charges of money laundering, illegal cross-border trafficking of cash and fraud.

Related:Vietnam death row tycoon faces new multibillion-dollar fraud charges Vietnam property tycoon Truong My Lan sentenced to death in US$12 billion fraud case

Around 36,000 people have been identified as victims of the SCB fraud, which shocked the communist nation and prompted rare protests from those who lost their money.

Hoang Ngoc Diep told AFP that she lost 1.7 billion Vietnamese dong (US$69,000) - money she had saved through "blood, sweat and tears" - after investing in an SCB bond in 2022.

The 47-year-old "had a mental breakdown and fell into a depression" after realising what had happened, she said in an interview ahead of the trial.

"My family used to depend on the interest to take care of my mentally ill sister and to send my children to school. I can no longer afford to give my children extra classes."

"I hope that the court will have a favourable outcome so that the victims can get back their hard-earned money ... and make life a little less difficult."

State media reports said Lan and her associates stole around US$18 billion by taking assets from SCB and issuing bonds between early 2018 and October 2022.

Dozens of victims in the case held protests in central Hanoi this week8win gaming, demanding authorities help them get their money back.

A Vietnam war veteran and fraud victim arrives with other victims to attend the court proceedings of Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan in Ho Chi Minh City on Sep 19, 2024. (Photo: AFP/STR)

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