A former member of the Vietnamese parliament has been sentenced to life in prison for fraudulently pocketing 16 million US dollars in down payments from would-be homeowners.

Before entering parliament, Chau Thi Thu Nga was the chairwoman of the private Housing Group company which sold hundreds of off-the-plan apartments from 2009.

But the apartment project was never licensed and the properties never built.

Chaâu later served in parliament between 2011 until 2015, when she was arrested on fraud charges and stripped of her post.

The trail on Monday found her guilty and sentenced the 52 year old to life in prison.

The court ordered Chau to repay the victims of the property scam.

Nine of her accomplices were also given penalties ranging from three years suspended sentence to seven years in jail.

Vietnam is currently cleaning up its image, targeting executives and officials for mass incidents of fraud and corruption.

But some analysts say the move is also about eliminating political rivals as much as it is about corruption.