Hacker News Reader

That's not the wildest part.

She stole 6.6% of Vietnam's yearly GDP in total.

That's like someone stealing $1.6 trillion USD in the US. Madoff only stole $35 billion for comparison.

Some might say that the death penalty is barbaric. But I read an opinion recently on this that said death seems like a better deal for this person than a lifetime in the worst prison possible.

View on HN

Edit to my post above:

She actually stole 10.7% ($44b) of Vietnam's yearly GDP in total. The 6.6% figure was the amount that she couldn't return.

So it's like $2.7 trillion USD in the US.

Stealing this proportion of a country's money by one person is simply unprecedented.

Is there a reason she couldn't return that much? Was it already spent or locked in offshore accounts? Or given to other accomplices?

What you just said. Some of the money left the country. Her husband was a Hong Kong businessmen. No doubt a lot of money was “lost” through there.

>But I read an opinion recently on this that said death seems like a better deal for this person than a lifetime in the worst prison possible.

If that's the logic, then logically she should be presented with that choice. Otherwise, its a morally thin excuse (not yours but theirs).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com