Vietnamese real estate tycoon found guilty of billions in fraud in government graft crackdown

A Vietnamese real estate tycoon was convicted Thursday of fraudulently obtaining property worth billions of dollars in a case that has been a centerpiece of the government's crackdown on corruption. Truong My Lan was already convicted in April by the same Ho Chi Minh City court of fraud amounting to $12.5 billion — nearly 3% of the country's gross domestic product — in a separate case and sentenced to death by lethal injection. The trials were broken into two parts due to the number of allegations against her, and Thursday's verdict, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, adds to Lan's legal troubles as she awaits the appeal of her death sentence to be heard.