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It is the most spectacular trial ever held in Vietnam, befitting one of the greatest bank frauds the world has ever seen.

Behind the stately yellow portico of the colonial-era courthouse in Ho Chi Minh City, a 67-year-old property developer stands accused of looting one of Vietnam's largest banks over a period of 11 years.

The numbers involved are dizzying. Truong My Lan is charged with taking out $44bn (£35bn) in loans from the Saigon Commercial Bank. Prosecutors say $27bn may never be recovered.

The habitually secretive communist authorities have been uncharacteristically forthright about this case, going into minute detail for the media. They say they have summoned 2,700 people to testify. There are 10 state prosecutors and around 200 lawyers involved.

The evidence is in 104 boxes weighing a total of six tonnes. Eighty-five defendants are on trial with Truong My Lan, who denies the charges. She and 13 others face a possible death sentence.