A major property investor in Vietnam, Truong My Lan, is on trial over an accusation of fraud amounting to $12.5 billion.
越南主要房地产投资者张美兰因涉嫌诈骗125亿美元而受审。
That is nearly 3 percent of the country's 2022 total economic production and the largest financial fraud case on record.
这是该国2022年经济总量的近3%,也是有记录以来最大的金融欺诈案。
Lan is the 66-year-old head of the property company Van Thinh Phat.
现年66岁的张美兰是房地产公司万盛发集团的负责人。
The company was one of Vietnam's biggest property companies and its projects include homes, offices, hotels, and business centers.
该公司是越南最大的房地产公司之一,其项目包括住宅、办公室、酒店和商业中心。
A government document says she reportedly used "thousands of ghost companies," paid bribes to government officials, and broke banking laws.
一份政府文件称,据报道,她使用了“数千家幽灵公司”,向政府官员行贿,并违反了银行法。
She is accused of illegally controlling the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank from 2012 to 2022 and using it to steal $12.5 billion, the document adds.
文件还称,她被控在2012年至2022年期间非法控制西贡股份商业银行,并利用该银行窃取了125亿美元。
Another 85 people are being charged in the case, including a former State Bank of Vietnam official accused of accepting $5.2 million in bribes.
另有85人在此案中受到指控,其中包括一名被控收受520万美元贿赂的越南国家银行前官员。
Lan was arrested in October 2022 and could be executed if found guilty.
张美兰于2022年10月被捕,如果罪名成立,她可能会被处决。
Officials brought Lan to a Ho Chi Minh City courtroom on Tuesday morning.
周二上午,官员们将张美兰带到了胡志明市的一家法庭。
Her husband Eric Chu Nap-kee, who works in property investment in Hong Kong, was also asked to appear in the case, VN Express reported.
据越南快讯报道,她的丈夫、在香港从事房地产投资的朱立基也被要求出庭。
Lan's arrest is part of an ongoing anti-corruption drive that brought thousands of officials and business leaders under investigation.
张美兰被捕是越南正在进行的反腐运动的一部分,这场运动使数千名官员和商界领袖受到调查。
In January 2023, then-President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and two top officials resigned for "political responsibility" of corruption dealings during the pandemic.
2023年1月,时任国家主席阮春福和两名高级官员因疫情期间腐败交易的“政治责任”而辞职。
But observers said the anti-corruption drive has also worsened Vietnam's economic outlook and concerned foreign investors.
但观察人士表示,反腐行动也使得越南的经济前景恶化,令外国投资者感到担忧。
It came at a time when the Southeast Asian nation has been trying to get businesses to move from China.
而此时正值这个东南亚国家试图让企业从中国迁出。
Linh Nguyen is the lead researcher for Washington D.C.-based Control Risks.
阮灵(音译)是总部位于华盛顿特区的“控制风险”组织的首席研究员。
She said it is the size of Lan's alleged fraud that has been surprising.
她说,张美兰涉嫌欺诈的规模令人惊讶。
"More than 3 percent of the GDP is very large," Nguyen said.
阮灵说:“国内生产总值的3%以上是非常大的。”
GDP, or gross domestic product, is how much a country produces in one year.
国内生产总值是指一个国家一年的生产总值。
She added that it also raised questions about whether other banks and businesses had "done the done the same (and) just haven't been discovered."
她补充说,这也引发了人们的疑问,即其他银行和企业“是否也做了同样的事情,只是没有被发现。”
The anti-corruption drive has also resulted in Vietnam's government slowing down.
反腐运动也导致越南政府施政放缓。
A report from Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute says that public officials are concerned about being investigated and are avoiding their responsibilities.
新加坡尤索夫·伊萨东南亚研究所的一份报告称,公职人员担心被调查,正在逃避责任。
And Nguyen said that investors in banking, finance, and property investment are also taking a "wait and see" position at the moment.
阮表示,目前银行、金融和房地产投资领域的投资者也持“观望”态度。
Last year, local media reported that 1,300 property companies withdrew from the market and developers have been offering price reductions and gold to bring in buyers.
去年,据当地媒体报道,1300家房地产公司退出了市场,开发商一直在采取降价和提供黄金的方式来吸引买家。
But Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's top politician, said in November that the anti-corruption fight would "continue for the long term."
但越南共产党中央总书记阮富仲在11月表示,反腐斗争将会“长期持续下去”。
I'm Gregory Stachel.
格雷戈里·施塔赫尔为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译,未经授权请勿转载!