The People’s Procuracy of Hanoi has issued indictments prosecuting a number of tycoons who used fraudulent schemes to appropriate trillions of dong from numerous investors. 

One notable defendant is Vu Thi Thuy, chairwoman of the board and CEO of Nhat Nam Real Estate Trading Investment JSC.

Vu Thi Thuy, CEO of Nhat Nam Real Estate, is accused of mobilizing 43,314 investment cooperation contracts in 2020-2023, with a total amount of VND9.113 trillion. 

Of this sum, Thuy used more than VND4.144 trillion to repay principal for contracts. The remaining nearly VND5 trillion (from a total of 39,814 contracts involving 13,980 victims) was allegedly appropriated by the chairwoman of Nhat Nam Company and her accomplices and used for personal purposes.

Together with accomplices, after fraudulently appropriating nearly VND5 trillion, Thuy invested VND40.8 billion in Ngoi Sao Company, VND99 billion in Nhat Nam Son Tay Company, VND450 billion in Song Da Nhat Nam Company, VND98 billion in Song Da Invest Company, and VND88 billion in Nam Nhat Khang Company. 

She also used VND191 billion to contribute capital to acquire 30 percent of the shares in Song Da 1.01 Company.

In addition, Vu Thi Thuy used the legal entity of Nhat Nam Company to purchase 30 land plots from local residents in My Duc District (former), Hanoi, worth about VND30–40 billion; 26 land plots in Thanh Hoa worth VND20 billion; 40 50-year land plots in Dak Lak registered under the names of Nhat Nam Company and Mai Thanh Tung (Thuy’s ex-husband) worth VND24 billion; and five land plots in Tay Ninh worth VND3.7 billion.

Nhat Nam Company also bought eight perennial crop land plots in Phu Quoc worth VND67 billion. Thuy also bought 38 villa plots worth more than VND300 billion in her name and invested VND100 billion in a project in Luc Ngan, Bac Giang (former).

Investment in real estate

Another tycoon who was imprisoned after committing crimes to appropriate billions of dong from many investors is Than Van Thoai (born 1984, former General Director of BBA Global JSC). Along with Ho Quoc Anh (born 1990, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BBI Company, currently wanted), tycoon Thoai was prosecuted for the crimes of using computer networks, telecommunication networks, and electronic means to appropriate assets and money laundering.

The indictment alleges that from September 2021 to June 11, 2024, Thoai and his accomplices supplied and issued the digital cryptocurrency CBP, mobilizing capital in the form of multi-level, multi-tier, multi-branch marketing.

The accused lured many investors by promoting, holding seminars, panel discussions, and sharing introductions about the CBP coin, offering attractive commission policies, controlling and imposing prices, approving withdrawal orders, and manipulating the price of the CBP cryptocurrency. 

This caused many victims to believe that the CBP coin had real value and would yield high profits. As a result, investors transferred money to the accused to buy and sell digital currency according to instructions, and then had it all appropriated.

The investigation agency issued a notice to search for victims in the case, but so far only 33 victims have reported and denounced Thoai and his accomplices for appropriating money through calling for investment in the CBP cryptocurrency on the Speeding.vip exchange. The amount of money Thoai and his accomplices have appropriated from the victims is over VND45 billion.

Investigation documents show that after collecting big money from investors, Thoai used the money to invest in real estate in Hoa Binh (now Phu Tho province).

Thoai became acquainted with Truong Van Ha and asked Ha to find and purchase production forest land in Phu Tho for investment and the implementation of the Future City project. 

Thoai entrusted Ha with gathering land from local residents, and once the land was purchased, Thoai would decide who would be named on the Certificate of Land Use Rights and instruct Ha to complete the transfer procedures to that person.

According to the indictment documents, Thoai gave Ha over VND106 billion (of which over VND44 billion belonged to Thoai, and the rest belonged to others) to buy land. Ha used over VND69 billion to purchase a total area of 538,540 sqm of production forest land and completed the transfer procedures to the ownership of the subjects. The remaining amount was used by Ha to buy other land and for personal expenses.

T. Nhung