Legal experts say that property seizure is a preventive measure to stop asset dispersal and ensure future enforcement of court judgments.

Before his arrest, TikToker Pho Duc Nam (Mr Pips) was known for videos flaunting his lavish lifestyle and sharing tips on making money to hundreds of thousands of followers on TikTok and YouTube. 

This hot TikToker was prosecuted to investigate the crimes of fraud to appropriate property and money laundering. Related to the case, the police agency seized and froze huge assets, estimated at over VND5,200 billion.

Specifically, the assets included: VND316 billion in accounts, bonds worth VND9 billion, savings books worth over VND200 billion, VND69 billion in cash, $2.3 million in cash, 890 SJC gold bars, 246kg of pure gold bars, 31 supercars, seven luxury motorcycles, 59 famous-brand watches worth about VND300 billion, and 84 gold jewelry items inlaid with diamonds.

The appropriate agencies froze transactions on 125 properties.

On December 27, 2024, the police agency seized an additional VND12 billion, 18 apartments and villas, and $500,000 in a foreign account.

Regarding the case of producing and selling fake food led by Vo Thi Ngoc Ngan (Ngan 98), on October 15, HCMC police said they coordinated with the People’s Procuracy to search the defendant's residence, seizing 80 pink books (land-use right certificates), over $8,000, four savings books, and two cars to serve the investigation and verify asset origin.

The investigation agency is continuing to clarify the relationship between the seized assets and Ngan 98's criminal activities, while verifying the origin of the money flow related to producing and selling fake food under Ngan's direction.

In another development, on October 6, at the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) press conference, a representative of the Investigation Police Office (C01) said the ministry’s Investigation Police Agency has prosecuted the case and the defendant, and temporarily detained Hoang Thi Huong (aka Hoang Huong, owner of the Hoang Thi Huong business household and owner of the Hoang Huong ecosystem) for the crime of violating accounting regulations, causing serious consequences.

Initial investigation results determined that Hoang Huong has 18 companies, 25 business households, and 44 individuals named in businesses within the ecosystem set up by Huong to sell functional foods, health protection foods, and other products.

To evade taxes, Huong directed employees to record revenues under household businesses and individuals. From January 2021 to June 2025, the defendant left nearly VND1,800 billion in revenue out of accounting books and wrongly declared VAT tax on nearly VND2,100 billion in revenue.

The Investigation Police Agency seized two assets of Hoang Huong, with an estimated value of over VND300 billion, to remedy the damage.

Lawyer Dang Van Cuong told VietNamNet that under the current laws, asset attachment is one of the preventive measures to avoid asset dissipation and ensure judgment execution. 

The asset attachment measure is applied to defendants charged with crimes for which the 2015 Criminal Code provides for fine penalties, asset confiscation, or forced compensation to ensure judgment execution.

Besides coercive measures like asset attachment and account freezing, procedural agencies can also attach and freeze assets derived from crime or assets of criminal origin to ensure judgment execution.

In principle, assets derived from crime can be confiscated, while assets related to crime or criminal tools can be determined as case evidence and handled according to evidence handling principles.

The investigation agency will clarify the methods and tricks used to commit the crimes, determine the exact amount of money the suspects appropriated from the victims, and trace how the money was transferred, laundered, or concealed.

All assets obtained through criminal acts, assets related to crimes, and even those generated from the execution of criminal acts must be identified and subjected to preventive or coercive measures for recovery. These assets are considered evidence in criminal proceedings and will be handled according to the law.

For criminal assets or crime-related assets located abroad, Vietnamese investigative authorities will coordinate with the host countries to verify their origins and ownership, requesting relevant individuals to hand over or transfer these assets to Vietnamese authorities for handling under Vietnamese law.

In principle, the settlement of criminal cases involving foreign individuals or assets located overseas will comply with international law, judicial assistance treaties, and principles of international relations. For countries that do not have mutual legal assistance agreements or bilateral or multilateral treaties with Vietnam, such matters may be handled through diplomatic channels.

T. Nhung