The Hanoi Police Investigation Agency has completed its investigation into a major fraud and money laundering case led by Pho Duc Nam.

According to investigators, after defrauding investors of more than VND1.301 trillion (approximately US$53 million), 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, also known as Shark Binh.

To facilitate the laundering scheme, Nam coordinated with a finance team to open e-wallet accounts at intermediary payment companies. One of these was Ngan Luong JSC, where Nguyen Hoa Binh served as chairman and directed overall operations.

In June 2020, Ngan Luong JSC began receiving official requests from police agencies seeking verification of e-wallets that had received funds from investors participating in Nam’s forex trading platforms.

An employee in the company’s operations department, Nguyen Thi Nam, reported the matter to Binh. Investigators allege that although Binh was aware the forex platforms were operating illegally, he instructed staff not to provide genuine wallet information. Instead, they were directed to create data from alternative “dummy” wallets to submit to authorities.

Binh is also accused of instructing subordinates to contact individuals working for Nam’s forex platforms to inform them of police verification requests. Staff then coordinated to draft responses and documents in a manner favorable to Nam.

He allegedly approved the content of official replies and accompanying documents before they were signed and sent to authorities.

Following these instructions, from June 2020 to mid-2021, employees who received verification requests would notify Nam. Nam would then provide or instruct his associates to send materials to Binh’s staff via Telegram.

Authorities determined that from June 15, 2020, when Ngan Luong JSC first responded to a request from Bac Ninh police, to September 23, 2022, when it issued its final response to Binh Duong police, 150 victims transferred more than VND213 billion (US$8.7 million) into the company’s e-wallet accounts.

In connection with the case, Pho Duc Thang was asked by his son to stand in and participate in transactions to purchase four real estate properties worth more than VND235 billion (US$9.6 million), using funds derived from criminal activities.

Meanwhile, Le Thi Lieu was also asked to stand in for and take part in a property transaction worth more than VND220 billion (US$9 million), with funds originating from Nam’s crimes.

Investigative documents conclude that there is sufficient evidence to determine that Thang and Lieu committed money laundering under Clause 3, Article 324 of the Penal Code.

T. Nhung