A real estate magnate in Vietnam may be subject to the death penalty in a corruption trial for alleged fraud, deemed the largest in the history of the Southeast Asian nation, according to local media reports.

According to court documents cited by the newspaper Vietnam+, Truong My Lan, chairwoman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group (VTP), purportedly embezzled over 304 trillion dong ($12.5 billion) from Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB).

Lan allegedly controlled SCB through "thousands of ghost companies" between 2012 and 2022. An additional 193 trillion dong ($7.8 billion) in damages resulted from accumulated interest on the loans, allegedly taken by Lan and her accomplices from the bank.

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The purported scam's total damages amount to approximately 498 trillion dong ($20 billion), representing around 4.69% of Vietnam's GDP.

Prosecutors said that Lan had also been accused of bribing officials to ignore her activities, including a payment of $5.2 million, which she allegedly made to a senior central bank inspector. 

The tycoon was arrested when the investigation began in October 2022. Her trial is anticipated to continue until the end of April. Prosecutors are seeking a death sentence for embezzlement, 20 years in prison for bribery, and a potential maximum of 20 years for breaching the country's financial regulations.

“During the trial, Truong My Lan did not admit to the crime, was stubborn, blamed her subordinates, and didn’t show remorse. The defendant’s actions caused extremely serious and irreparable consequences, so Truong My Lan should be permanently removed from society,” Vietnam+ cited the prosecutors saying.

Lan’s representatives have not responded to media requests for comment on the proceedings.