The conclusion of the investigation carried out by an agency deployed by Phu Tho Police has disclosed the names of numerous firms involved in the gambling ring, including Vietcombank, that was reported to have earned VND140 million ($6,184).

Based on Article 47 of the 2015 Criminal Code on the confiscation of money and items directly related to a crime, the investigation agency proposed to seize the money that Vietcombank had gained from the online gambling ring after subtracting the amount already remitted into the state budget.

The agency will continue to investigate, ascertain and handle three Vietcombank employees in the second phase of the case: Nguyen Phuc Tuan (born 1981), manager of card services business division, who directly signed a contract connecting payment for RikVip/Tip.Club; Dinh Manh Quan (1990), card services business division staff member; and Dinh Tuan Dong (1991), card services business division staff member.

Another 33 banks who issued ATM cards and provided money transfer services for the gambling ring will also be investigated and handled in line with regulations of the law in the next phase of the case.

The investigation agency concluded that money circulated in the ring through e-payment portals and agents. Of these, VND9.583 trillion ($422.2 million) was charged for such e-payment portals as VNPT Epay (earned VND8.94 trillion, equivalent to $393.8 million), Homedirect (benefited VND53.22 billion, equalling $2.34 million), Nganluong (gained VND481 million, equivalent to $21,200) and GTS (earning the remainder).

All the money has been seized, with VNPT Epay able to explain some reasonable costs and reduce the amount of seized money to nearly VND51 billion ($2.25 million).

Phu Tho Police has prosecuted a total of 105 defendants involved in the ring for the seven charges of illegal gambling; organising gambling or running gambling dens; dealing in illegal invoices and receipts for payment of state revenue; laundering money and/or property obtained through the commission of crime; giving bribes; appropriation of property using a computer network, telecommunications network; and abuse of power or position in performance of official duties.

The agency has suspended the investigation of the 13 defendants, and 12 wanted suspects.

The gambling ring on the web portals Rikvip/Tip.club has established a large network of 25 "tier 1 agencies" and nearly 5,900 "tier 2 agencies" with nearly 43 million user accounts since it launched in mid-2015.

The illegal ring was found to have generated a total income of over VND9.8 trillion ($426 million) and profit of VND4.7 trillion. Out of this profit, the ring leaders received nearly VND1.5 trillion and over VND1.6 trillion each while a group of wanted suspects earned VND1.574 trillion between them.

VIR