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| Phan Sào Nam, former chairman of VTC Online Telecommunications Company. – Photo VTC online |
Viet Nam News
HÀ NỘI — Police of northern Phú Thọ Province have launched legal proceedings against more than 70 defendants for their alleged involvement in a major gambling and money laundering case.
The scam had the alleged involvement of Nguyễn Thanh Hóa, former head of High-tech Crime Police Department, the Sài Gòn Giải phóng (Liberated Sài Gòn) newspaper reported.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, the crime involved using the internet to illegally appropriate assets, organise gambling rings, trade fake invoices and launder money in Phú Thọ Province and other localities. The scam was discovered late last year and has been investigated since.
Earlier, the Phú Thọ police seized more than VNĐ1 trillion (US$43.9 million) from the gambling ring, and found that an estimated $3.6 million in foreign currencies was transferred to overseas accounts.
The ring was allegedly run by Phan Sào Nam, former chairman of the VTC Online Telecommunications Company, and Nguyễn Văn Dương, former CEO of Hi-tech Security Development and Investment Ltd. Co. The police arrested both Nam and Dương and launched legal proceedings against them for allegedly organising the gambling rings.
Local police on Sunday arrested Nguyễn Thanh Hoá for his alleged role in the case.
Hoá, born 1958 in Bình Định and currently residing in Hà Nội, is a former major general of the People’s Police. He will be jailed for initial four months to be investigated for “organising gambling” as a crime under the Penal Code 1999.
The former policeman was suspended from his role by the end of 2017 for his alleged involvement in the online gambling rings, the very crime his post required him to fight.
On Sunday, President Trần Đại Quang signed a decision to strip Hoá of his People’s Police title.
The police have expanded investigations into the case. — VNS
