Lê Xuân Giang, 49, Chairman of Liên Kết Việt Company, appeared at the court on Monday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — The Hà Nội People's Court yesterday opened a first instance trial of the Liên Kết Việt multi-level marketing scam case, the number of victims of which was more than 68,000 and the money involved was about VNĐ 1.12 trillion (US$50 million).

The court summoned 6,053 victims to the trial, with more than 500 present. Due to the huge number of victims involved, the court installed screen projectors for the case. The hearing is scheduled to take place across about 10 days, including Saturday and Sunday.

The seven defendants in this case include Lê Xuân Giang, 49, Chairman of Liên Kết Việt Company, Lê Văn Tú, 35, General Director of Liên Kết Việt Company, Nguyễn Thị Thủy, 50, Deputy General Director of Liên Kết Việt Company, and four members of the market development group of Liên Kết Việt Company, namely Lê Thanh Sơn, 32, Trịnh Xuân Sang, 45 Nguyễn Xuân Trường, 53 and Vũ Thị Hồng Dung, 47.

The defendants were prosecuted by the Supreme People's Procuracy on charges of fraud and appropriation of property.

The indictment says Liên Kết Việt was started by Lê Xuân Giang, who organised events to gain the trust of potential clients and investors and build a reputation.

He invited military veterans and officers to his events and convinced them to issue a false certification for his company that stated the company was managed by the Ministry of National Defence. Giang also claimed he was a colonel, which appeared to support claims his products were property of the defence ministry. His products included dietary supplements, physical therapy equipment and ozone deodorising devices.

Between March 2014 and November 2015, Liên Kết Việt opened 35 offices across 27 cities in Việt Nam. Client agreements stated that members would buy company products, and then sell them to their own customers. They were promised a 65 per cent commission on every product sold, much higher than the 40 per cent allowed by the Government. VNS