Real estate tycoon Truong My Lan faces the death penalty in a trial that began Tuesday over alleged fraud amounting to US$12.5 billion — nearly 3% of the country’s 2022 GDP and Vietnam’s largest financial fraud case on record.

The name Anant Asavabhokhin has made national headlines after the Office of the Attorney-General on Friday said that it would charge the property tycoon with money laundering over his alleged involvement in the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) fund embezzlement scandal.