A major property investor in Vietnam, Truong My Lan, is on trial over an accusation of fraud amounting to $12.5 billion. That is nearly 3 percent of the country's 2022 total economic production and the largest financial fraud case on record.
越南主要房地产投资商张美兰因涉嫌欺诈125亿美元而受审。这几乎占该国2022年经济总量的3%，也是有记录以来最大的金融欺诈案件。
Lan is the 66-year-old head of the property company Van Thinh Phat. The company was one of Vietnam's biggest property companies and its projects include homes, offices, hotels, and business centers.
现年66岁的张美兰是越南万盛发房地产公司的负责人。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. 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.
一份政府文件称，据报道她利用了“数千家幽灵公司”，向政府官员行贿，并违反了银行法。文件补充道，她被指控在2012年至2022年非法控制西贡商业股份银行，并利用该银行窃取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. Lan was arrested in October 2022 and could be executed if found guilty.
另有85人在此案中受到指控，其中包括一名前越南国家银行官员，他被控受贿520万美元。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. 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.
周二上午，官员将张美兰带上胡志明市法庭。据《越南快讯》报道，她的丈夫Eric Chu Nap-kee（在香港从事房地产投资）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. In January 2023, then-President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and two top officials resigned for "political responsibility" of corruption dealings during the pandemic.
张美兰的被捕是正在进行的反腐运动的一部分，该运动使数千名官员和商界领袖受到调查。2023年1月，时任总统阮春福和两名高级官员因对疫情期间的腐败交易负有“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. It came at a time when the Southeast Asian nation has been trying to get businesses to move from China.
但观察人士表示，反腐运动也恶化了越南的经济前景，并让外国投资者感到担忧。当此之际，这个东南亚国家正试图让企业从中国搬过来。
Linh Nguyen is the lead researcher for Washington D.C.-based Control Risks. She said it is the size of Lan's alleged fraud that has been surprising.
阮灵是总部位于华盛顿特区的“控制风险组织”的首席研究员。她说，张美兰涉嫌欺诈的规模令人吃惊。
"More than 3 percent of the GDP is very large," Nguyen said. GDP, or gross domestic product, is how much a country produces in one year. 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."
阮灵表示：“超过3%的国内生产总值是非常大的数额。”国内生产总值是一个国家一年的生产量。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，只是还没有被发现。”
The anti-corruption drive has also resulted in Vietnam's government slowing down. A report from Singapore's ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute says that public officials are concerned about being investigated and are avoiding their responsibilities.
反腐运动也导致越南政府的行动放缓。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，并在逃避责任。
And Nguyen said that investors in banking, finance, and property investment are also taking a "wait and see" position at the moment.
阮灵表示，银行、金融和房地产投资的投资者目前也持“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.
当地媒体去年报道称，有1300家房地产公司退出了市场，开发商一直在提供降价和黄金来吸引买家。
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."
但是，越共总书记、越南最高政治家阮富仲在11月说，越南反腐败斗争将“长期持续”。
I'm Gregory Stachel.
我是格雷戈里·施塔赫尔。(51VOA.COM原创翻译，请勿转载，违者必究！)