HANOI: A top Vietnamese luxury property tycoon was sentenced to eight years in prison, state media said Wednesday, after he was accused of cheating thousands of investors in a $355 million bond scam. It is the latest case in a sweeping anti-corruption probe targeting high-flying business leaders that is roiling the communist country. More than 4,000 people, including officials and senior business figures, have been indicted in more almost 2,000 cases since 2021.

Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Do Anh Dung, head of the Tan Hoang Minh group which specialises in luxury offices and apartments, to eight years in jail for fraud, according to Tuoi Tre news site.

Dung’s son, Do Hoang Viet, was also sentenced to three years imprisonment, while 13 other defendants were given sentences of up to two and half years in jail.

Dung and his co-defendants were accused of illegally acquiring $355 million in a bond sale to 6,630 investors. “The jury assessed that the defendants’ crimes were particularly serious, directly infringing on the property ownership rights of other people,” according to Tuoi Tre report.

According to previous state media reports, by January 2022 the Tan Hoang Minh group was struggling with debts of some $810 million because of stalled projects and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The defendants sold bonds to raise capital, promising investors high returns, but embezzled the $355 million raised, state media reported. State media reported that Dung and his son have already repaid the $355 million.

The verdict comes as the country’s biggest ever fraud case, Truong My Lan, chairwoman of the Van Thinh Phat property development group, along with 85 other defendants, is currently on trial in Ho Chi Minh City accused of embezzling $12.5 billion. Vietnamese prosecutors have called for her to face the death penalty, with the trial expected to end in late April. — AFP