越南女子被指控125亿美元诈骗案
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.
越南最大的房地产投资者之一Trương My Lan因涉嫌诈骗高达125亿美元（相当于该国2022年总生产总值的近3%）而受审，这起案件创下了越南有史以来的最大金融诈骗案记录。
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.
蓝是万鼎发地产公司的负责人，该公司曾是越南最大的房地产公司之一，业务涉及住宅、办公室、酒店和商业中心等多个领域，而他本人已经66岁。
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，她被指使用了“数千家空壳公司”，向官员行贿，并违反了银行业法规。文件还称，她被指控从2012年到2022年非法控制西贡联营商业银行，并通过该银行窃取了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.
此案中另有85人被起诉，其中包括一名涉嫌受贿520万美元的越南国家银行前官员。蓝于2022年10月被捕，如果被判有罪可能会面临死刑。
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.
据VN Express报道，周二上午，官员们将蓝女士带到了胡志明市的一个法庭上，她的丈夫、在香港从事房地产投资的陈嘉基也被要求出庭。
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.
蓝庆光的被捕是反腐运动的一部分，该运动已导致数千名官员和商界领袖受到调查。2023年1月，因疫情时期的腐败行为，当时的总统阮春福和另外两位高级官员因此辞职，承担“政治责任”。
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，反腐行动已经让越南的经济前景蒙上阴影，并让外国投资者感到不安。而此时的越南正努力吸引企业从中国转移过来。
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.
华盛顿特区控制风险公司的首席研究员林玉娇（Linh Nguyen）表示，令人惊讶的是蓝洞案涉及的金额之大。
“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.”
“3%以上的GDP是一个很大的数字，”Nguyen说。GDP，即国内生产总值，是指一个国家一年的总产出。她补充说，这也引发了疑问，即其他银行和企业是否也“做了同样的事情，只是尚未被发现”。
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.
反腐行动也导致越南政府工作效率下降。新加坡伊莎克·苏丹国立大学伊莎斯研究所的一份报告显示，公务员担心被调查，因而逃避职责。
And Nguyen said that investors in banking, finance, and property investment are also taking a “wait and see” position at the moment.
而阮氏表示，银行、金融和房地产投资领域的投资者目前也在采取“观望”的态度。
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.
去年，当地媒体报导说，有1300家房地产公司退出了市场，开发商们纷纷降价并提供实物黄金以吸引买家。
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.”
但越南最高领导人、共产党总书记阮富仲在11月表示，反腐斗争“将是长期的”。
I’m Gregory Stachel.
我叫格雷戈里·斯特查尔。
Aniruddha Ghosal reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English.
Aniruddha Ghosal为美联社报道了这个故事。Gregory Stachel将其改编成了VOA英语学习频道的内容。
_______________________________________
Words in This Story
这个故事中的词语
ghost company – n. a company that exists on paper or in official records but does not have any business operations or physical presence, often used in fraud
“空壳公司 – n. 一种仅存在于纸面上或官方记录中，但没有实际业务运营或实体存在的公司，常用于欺诈行为。”
fraud – n. the crime of cheating somebody in order to get money or goods illegally
欺诈 – n. 通过欺骗他人以非法获取金钱或物品的犯罪行为。
allege – n. the crime of cheating somebody in order to get money or goods illegally
指控 – 动词：指欺骗某人以非法获取金钱或物品的行为。
