On November 28, the Economic Police Department of Da Nang announced it had indicted an additional 10 individuals across multiple provinces and cities, bringing the total number of suspects in the case to 33.

The newly indicted suspects include Le Van Ngoc Duy (Dak Lak), Phan Duc Hau (Hue), Ho Le Vu Hoai (Quang Ngai), Nguyen Truc Mai (Nghe An), Cao Ngoc Son and Vo Dai Luong (Khanh Hoa), Dinh Ngoc Long and Nguyen Minh Sang (Gia Lai), Chau The Anh, and Nguyen Van Tuan (Quang Tri).

This move marks an expansion of an investigation that began in January 2025, targeting a large-scale money laundering operation closely linked to Cambodia-based cybercrime organizations.

Initially, the investigation revealed suspicious transactions totaling around 30 trillion VND (USD 1.2 billion). Under the direction of Major General Nguyen Huu Hop, Director of Da Nang Police, the case was expanded to uncover increasingly complex layers of fraud.

Following forensic audits, investigators found that the total amount laundered exceeded 67 trillion VND, alongside USD 43 million, EUR 1.5 million, and CAD 1 million.

During several coordinated raids, police froze over 1,000 bank accounts and seized approximately 100 billion VND (USD 4 million) in cash, 15 embossing and printing machines, 500 forged stamps and seal imitations, nearly 100 counterfeit or blank ID cards, and over 1,200 documents related to bogus company registrations.

Preliminary findings revealed that the suspects colluded with certain bank employees to open over 1,000 fake corporate accounts using forged documents. They also purchased around 10,000 personal bank accounts that were not registered to legitimate users.

This elaborate account system was then sold to criminal networks in Cambodia for use in fraudulent transactions and money laundering operations.

To date, police have identified dozens of victims across Vietnam who have had assets stolen through this scheme. In some cases, individuals lost as much as 12 billion VND (nearly USD 490,000).

The investigation is ongoing and expected to widen in scope.

Ha Nam