Vietnam Busts International Money Laundering Ring, Freezes Over VND 3 Trillion

Hai Phong City police have successfully dismantled an international money laundering ring, arresting 28 suspects and freezing over VND 3 trillion (approximately USD 120 million) in 36 bank accounts. Investigations revealed that Chinese nationals established a closed-loop remittance system within Vietnam, employing numerous Vietnamese individuals as account holders for a monthly fee of around VND 5 million. The group operated from apartments, running 24/7 shifts to process and transfer funds generated from online gambling activities. Operations were remotely controlled via private Telegram groups. On May 20, police simultaneously searched several apartments in an urban area in Gia Lam, Hanoi, summoning Le Trung Hieu, 27, and 15 associates. Hieu was allegedly responsible for receiving funds from organized gambling and quickly converting them into USDT to obscure their illegal origins. Following instructions from the ringleaders, Hieu contacted 27 USDT traders on Telegram, purchased large quantities of cryptocurrency, and transferred it to the leaders' wallets, completing the process of moving funds out of the traditional banking system. Further investigation identified Hoang Hai Van, 42, from Hanoi, and Chau Duc Lam, 37, from Da Nang, along with over 20 others, as regular USDT suppliers to Hieu. Van managed a trading system with staff responsible for pricing and managing debts, using 4-5 e-wallets daily to trade 7-10 million USDT and weekly discarding old wallets to erase traces. Authorities noted the ring's sophistication, including prepared Q&A documents and scripts to counter police inspections. To date, 28 individuals have been detained, with 9 charged with money laundering and 17 with organizing gambling. Police confiscated over 200 mobile phones and froze 2,003 bank accounts totaling over VND 3 trillion.