Authorities from the Investigation Police Agency under the Hanoi Police have recently completed their investigation into a case involving fraud and asset misappropriation led by Pho Duc Nam.

According to investigators, after allegedly defrauding more than VND1,301 billion (US$52 million) from investors, Pho Duc Nam, also known as Mr Pips, carried out money laundering activities.

Among those proposed for prosecution on charges of money laundering are Pho Duc Thang (born 1968, Nam’s father), Le Thi Lieu (born 1969, Nam’s mother), and Nguyen Hoa Binh, widely known as Shark Binh.

Investigators allege that to facilitate the laundering process, Nam coordinated with his finance team to open e-wallet accounts at intermediary payment companies. One of these was Ngân Lượng Joint Stock Company, where Nguyen Hoa Binh serves as Chairman and oversees operations.

In this case, Nguyen Hoa Binh is accused of acting as an accomplice in money laundering through the company’s e-wallet system.

According to the investigation’s findings, Nam and his associates used Ngan Luong’s payment system as an intermediary to receive funds from investors and channel them into multiple unlicensed forex trading platforms in Vietnam, including GKFX and DK Trade. Funds transferred by investors were routed into e-wallets, then circulated across various bank accounts before being deposited into trading platforms.

From June 2020 to September 2022, approximately 150 victims transferred hundreds of billions of dong into Ngan Luong e-wallet accounts. This amount represents a portion of the more than VND1,300 billion (US$52 million) that Nam is accused of misappropriating.

In addition to this case, Nguyen Hoa Binh is currently in detention as part of a separate investigation involving three charges: fraud, violations of accounting regulations causing serious consequences, and tax evasion.

For over two decades, Nguyen Hoa Binh had been regarded as one of Vietnam’s prominent figures in the technology sector, particularly during the rapid growth of e-commerce and digital payments.

Born in 1981, he began his entrepreneurial journey early and gradually built NextTech Group into a multi-sector technology ecosystem. The group operates across e-commerce, logistics, financial technology and digital transformation, with dozens of affiliated companies.

A key pillar within this ecosystem is Ngan Luong Joint Stock Company, an e-wallet and online payment gateway established in 2012. It was among the pioneers in Vietnam’s intermediary payment sector during the market’s early stages.

Ngan Luong grew rapidly by leveraging the rise of e-commerce, connecting with nearly 40 financial and telecommunications institutions, serving millions of users and hundreds of thousands of e-wallet accounts. Between 2016 and 2018, the company reportedly generated revenue reaching into the trillions of dong, becoming a major profit driver within the NextTech ecosystem.

Beyond its scale, Ngan Luong functioned as a financial infrastructure platform, facilitating payment flows between users, businesses and online platforms.

However, the company’s financial picture has also seen notable fluctuations. In 2022, its charter capital increased sharply from over VND50 billion (US$2 million) to nearly VND370 billion (US$15 million) within a short period, before dropping back to its original level by early 2024 - a decline of around 86%. These shifts have raised questions in the market regarding financial strategy and shareholder structure.

In parallel, Nguyen Hoa Binh gained widespread recognition through his role on Shark Tank Vietnam. As “Shark Binh”, he developed a distinct investment style, focusing on technology startups, particularly in fintech and e-commerce, and invested in dozens of ventures.

From a pioneer in digital payments who built a large-scale technology ecosystem, to becoming a suspect in serious financial cases, Nguyen Hoa Binh’s trajectory underscores the thin line between innovation and regulatory risk.

At the center of this trajectory, Ngan Luong - once seen as a symbol of Vietnam’s digital payment evolution - has now become a critical node in a major investigation, raising broader questions about governance, oversight and transparency in the rapidly expanding fintech sector.

Manh Ha