Police work with Alibaba's chairman Nguyen Thai Luyen at the company's headquarters on Kha Van Can Street in Ho Chi Minh City's Thu Duc District.

Alibaba's chairman Nguyen Thai Luyen, and director Nguyen Thai Linh who is Luyen’s younger brother were both detained as hundreds of police carried out a raid at the company's headquarters on Kha Van Can Street in Ho Chi Minh City's Thu Duc District.

Luyen and Linh will be prosecuted for fraudulently appropriating property.

Alibaba was established in May 2016 with four people and chartered capital of VND100 million (USD4,347), according to the company’s website.

Nguyen Thai Luyen contributed 80% of the charter capital. Nguyen Thai Linh and Nguyen Thai Cuc, brothers of Luyen, are shareholders.

The real estate company and over 20 of its subsidiaries are accused of fraudulently offering for sale thousands of land plots in 48 phantom projects in Ho Chi Minh City and some neighbouring provinces of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Dong Nai and Binh Thuan.

According to the governments of these localities, these land lots were agricultural land and land owned by residents.

Alibaba had collected money from more than 7,000 customers with the amount of appropriated money amounting to hundreds of billions of Vietnamese dong (USD4.3 million).

Dtinews/VNA/VNN