Nguyen Thi Van Anh (right) and Dao Quoc Huy

Nam Tu Liem district police, when investigating a “black credit” case, discovered a list of 1,000 individuals who had to mortgage their erotic images to get loans from the black credit ring in Dong Da district in Hanoi led by Nguyen Thi Van Anh and her husband Dao Quoc Huy.

Anh and Huy used the sensitive images to intimidate debtors and force them to pay debts.

One of the couple’s debtors is Nguyen Thi N from Nghe An province. As the couple threatened to post her sensitive videos and images on social networks and send the images to relatives, N had to prostitute herself to get money for debt repayment.

According to Lawyer Dang Van Cuong, property mortgage is one of the measures to ensure the performance of civil obligations. The objects to be mortgaged must be properties, which could be objects or rights for properties. ‘Properties’ must have attributes that they are manageable, usable and determinable.

Meanwhile, personal images, clips and information belong to moral rights, and they are a personal relationship, not a property relationship. The holders of personal images and information can only use the images and information for legal purposes.

Therefore, the mortgage of sensitive images and personal information for loans is not considered as a measure to ensure the performance of civil obligations. This is just a trick played by usurers to intimidate victims and force them to pay debts.

The behavior not only violates the laws, but also social ethics. It is identified as despicable behavior. The release of nude photos and sensitive clips of young women will lead to serious consequences, affecting their lives, mental health and happiness.

According to the lawyer, the behavior of disseminating sensitive images of borrowers to demand payment of debt may be prosecuted for criminal liability and charged for property appropriation in accordance with the 2015 Penal Code.

Cuong pointed out that in case there is evidence showing that people, who prosecute themselves are mentally dependent on lenders, and they are forced to do that, the police can take legal proceedings with the charge of rape, according to Article 143 of the 2015 Penal Code.

If creditors post pornographic clips and images of debtors on internet, they will also be prosecuted for criminal responsibility for spreading depraved cultural products in accordance with Article 326 of the 2015 Penal Code 2015. The crime is subject to 15-year imprisonment.

Regarding the measures to deal with black credit, Cuong said the State should apply measures to help people easily access consumer loans. If people can access official credit, they won’t consider borrowing money from usurers. 

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