Seeing the potential of the information technology industry, Dung expanded Helios’ operations in mid-2018 by establishing Heligate, focusing on customized software outsourcing services for overseas clients, primarily in Japan.

Heligate was officially established in early August 2018. As an investor, Dung served as chairman but did not directly participate in the management or day-to-day operations of the companies.

Dung appointed Luong Tuan Giang, born in 1984 and residing in Hanoi, as director to oversee operations. After establishing the companies, Dung used his personal connections to meet and invest in several other individuals who went on to establish additional projects and companies.

The birth of XoilacTV

Around late August 2018, Dung became acquainted with Nguyen Cong Dinh, born in 1993, a programmer who had worked for several information technology companies.

Earlier in 2018, Dinh had created a website called “XoilacTV” to livestream and provide commentary on popular football matches. Lacking capital and experience in developing the system, Dinh operated the website on a small scale, attracting few viewers and generating no profit.

At the time, recognizing the potential of sports commentary, Dung decided to invest in Dinh’s development of websites for watching and commenting on football matches, modeled on XoilacTV.

The goal was to generate profits from advertising. The two agreed that Dung would provide 100% of the initial funding required to build and operate the project, while Dinh would contribute his technical expertise and focus on its development. Under their agreement, profits would be split equally after expenses.

Under Dung’s arrangement, the team responsible for developing the football streaming and commentary websites was named SBG, later known as the “90 Phut” project, and operated under Heligate.

Large profits generated

According to investigators, Dung financed all of the initial operating costs required to establish and develop both the 90 Phut and Cakhia projects. He also directly instructed the accounting and treasury teams in handling the projects’ income and expenditures.

Investigators therefore determined that Pham Nguyen Dung bears responsibility for organizing members of the 90 Phut project to broadcast 1,529 football matches without permission from holders of related rights protecting those matches in Vietnam.

In addition, the suspect allegedly advertised online gambling websites, generating more than VND69 billion ($2.6 million) in illicit profits between April 2025 and January 2026.

The investigation also determined that members of the Cakhia project were organized to advertise online betting websites, generating more than VND64 billion ($2.4 million) in illicit profits between April 2025 and January 2026.

Investigators concluded that Dung’s alleged conduct constitutes the offenses of infringement of copyright and related rights and organizing gambling.

T. Nhung