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# Lao People's Court Sentences Ten Finance Officials to Prison in $102 Million Corruption Case
- URL: https://movement.mymidnight.blog/lao-peoples-court-sentences-ten-bank-employees-to-prison-in-102-million-corruption-case/
- Published: 2026-09-11T22:16:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-14T18:27:15.000Z
- Author: Joe Wilkins
- Tags: Governing Parties

Ten finance officials have been sentenced to major stints in prison by the Vientiane People's Court in Laos, as a result of a massive corruption probe spanning multiple state banking offices.

As [the *Vientiane Times* reported](https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freefreenews/freecontent%5F175%5FBank%5Fy26.php?ref=movement.mymidnight.blog) on Friday, the ten perpetrators range from top officials at the Bank of the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR ) to low- and mid-level bureaucrats, who together caused losses in excess of ₭2.29 trillion LAK, roughly in the ballpark of $101 and 102.2 million USD, according to conversions obtained by OANDA Currency Converter and Xe Currency Tools, respectively. 

The two top officials sentenced on Friday include Khamphout Sitthilath, who served as General Director of the Monetary Policy Department at the Bank of the Lao PDR from 2012 to 2021, and Od Phomxiangdi, former Head of the Administration (or Banking Operations) Department of the Bank of the Lao PDR, who passed away while the trial was underway (the exact dates of Mr. Od's tenure aren't known.)

Both Khamphout and Od were sentenced to life in prison as well as a fine equivalent to 1 percent of the total damages. The People's Court likewise ordered their assets seized by the state, while Khamphout was ordered to pay the state-owned Banque Pour Le Commerce Extérieur Lao (BCEL) an additional compensatory fine of around ₭1.42 billion LAK, over $60,000 USD. The eight other perpetrators were sentenced to terms ranging from 3 years to life, depending on their willingness to make restitution during the trial, the Thai-based publication [*Manager Online* reported](https://en.mgronline.com/economy/laos-hunts-down-those-behind-the-kip-currency-crisis-causing-2-quadrillion-kip-i/?ref=movement.mymidnight.blog).

Together, the two banking directors were found to have abused their authority to withdraw and launder foreign currency from the Bank of Lao PDR's reserves, resulting in nation-wide shortages of foreign currency and wild fluctuations for the Laotian kip. 

Since May of 2022, the kip has hovered near its lowest value in decades as the currency devolved into a parallel market, where the unofficial rate of the LAK to USD could exceed the government rate by close to 20 percent, per [the *Vientiane Times*](https://www.vientianetimes.org.la/freeContent/FreeConten%5FBusinesses90.php?ref=movement.mymidnight.blog).

**More on Laos:** [*Lao People's Revolutionary Party Advances Third Political Program In Group's History*](https://movement.mymidnight.blog/lao-peoples-revolutionary-party-advances-third-political-program-in-groups-history/)