Left to right, top to bottom: Nguyễn Đình Minh Khoa, Nguyễn Trung Anh, Nguyễn Đình Xuân, Nguyễn Hoàng Thanh, Nguyễn Phước Toàn, Doãn Thành Luân and Nguyễn Khương Duy. — Photo cand.vn

HÀ NỘI — Police charged seven suspects on Wednesday with copyright and related rights infringement and money laundering over an alleged film piracy operation spanning Hà Nội, HCM City and other localities.

The violations were uncovered through routine investigative work and information provided by United States' authorities, including Homeland Security Investigations and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

Four men - Nguyễn Đình Minh Khoa, Nguyễn Trung Anh, Nguyễn Đình Xuân, and Nguyễn Hoàng Thanh - face charges of infringing copyright and related rights, and of money laundering.

Three other suspects – Nguyễn Phước Toàn, Doãn Thành Luân, and Nguyễn Khương Duy – were charged with infringing copyright and related rights.

Police said the four ringleaders ran a network that created more than 100 websites to stream films online from 2020 to April 2026. The sites hosted more than 26,000 films copied illegally, without licences or the copyright holders' consent.

The network drew large numbers of users worldwide. Investigators allege the group profited roughly VNĐ308 billion (US$12.8 million) - through advertising placed on the pirate sites.

The suspects concealed the origin of the funds to evade detection, then moved the money into personal bank accounts, and used it to buy real estate and vehicles to launder the proceeds, investigators said.

Khoa, Anh, Xuân and Thanh are being held in pre-trial detention as investigators expand the probe. Toàn, Luân and Duy have been barred from leaving their places of residence. — VNS