Death sentence upheld for property tycoon in Vietnam — unless she pays $9 billion before execution

A Vietnamese court upheld the death penalty Tuesday for a property tycoon in a multibillion-dollar fraud case — but said her life could still be spared if she paid back three quarters of the assets she embezzled.

Property developer Truong My Lan, 68, was convicted this year of swindling money from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) — which prosecutors said she controlled — and sentenced to death for fraud totaling $27 billion.

She appealed the verdict in a month-long trial, but on Tuesday the court in Ho Chi Minh City determined that there was "no basis" to reduce her sentence.