Uncovering the Truth: The HCMC Police Expose Money Laundering Involving the Owners of Duc Long Jewelry

Illegal Money Transfers from Cambodia to Vietnam: A Complex Criminal Enterprise Unveiled

On August 2nd, Ho Chi Minh City police concluded their investigation and forwarded the case to the municipal People’s Procuracy, recommending prosecution against Do Viet Dai (b. 1971), Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (b. 1977, owner of Duc Long jewelry store), Nguyen Thi Kim Trang (b. 1970), and Le Van Hoa (b. 1977) for their involvement in illicit money transfers.

Unraveling a Web of Financial Crimes

Additionally, the police recommended prosecuting Mai Vu Minh (b. 1995), Le Thi Tham (b. 1976), Okoye Christian Ikechukwu (b. 1985, Nigerian national), and several others for charges including money laundering and illegal cross-border currency transportation.

The investigation also led to the issuance of arrest warrants for Mai Tra Mi (b. 1992) and Eneh Davidson Caleb (b. 1996, Nigerian national) on money laundering charges.

This case involves a sophisticated criminal organization that facilitated illegal money transfers between Cambodia and Vietnam, with participants acting as links and locations for exchanging and transferring funds across borders, primarily between the two countries, for illicit profits.

Ngan and Dai, under the guise of running a jewelry business, rented a discreet location on Cach Mang Thang 8 Street in Ho Chi Minh City to carry out their illicit activities.

Trang and Hoa, hired by the jewelry store owners, were responsible for handling foreign currencies and record-keeping. The group agreed with their Cambodian counterparts to earn 1.5 million VND for every 2.5 billion VND exchanged.

A Complex Network of Fraud and Money Laundering

From August 2023 to April 5, 2024, the syndicate transferred nearly $11 million and 2.048 billion VND from Cambodia to Vietnam, and approximately $8.2 million and over 35 billion VND in the opposite direction.

The case originated from a report by the Ukrainian Embassy in Vietnam to the Ho Chi Minh City police regarding the embezzlement of $314,000 from a Ukrainian company after a transfer to a Vietnamese company.

Promptly responding to the information, the Ho Chi Minh City police directorate instructed the Office of the Investigative Police Agency (PC01) to collaborate with other municipal units to establish a specialized task force to tackle the case.

The investigation uncovered an organized, transnational criminal network involved in fraud, money laundering, and illegal cross-border currency transportation. The perpetrators infiltrated the email systems of companies from various countries engaged in business transactions.

A Web of Fake Companies

The criminals created fake emails with names deceptively similar to those of the victim company’s partners, using them to communicate and request changes in transaction accounts due to alleged objective reasons.

Following instructions from their foreign accomplices, the Vietnamese perpetrators established numerous shell companies with names resembling those of legitimate partner companies. These shell companies opened USD and VND bank accounts.

The criminals then provided the account information of these shell companies to the victims, who, under the false pretense, transferred funds. Upon receiving the money in USD accounts, the shell company representatives quickly converted it to VND and funneled it into VND accounts before distributing it to personal accounts of individuals in Vietnam.

The investigation revealed that the group had set up over 300 shell companies to open corporate bank accounts for their criminal activities. Specifically, Nguyen Thi Huong was linked to 116 companies, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy to 112 companies, and Le Thi Tham to 53 companies.

Additionally, accounts associated with the perpetrators showed a transaction history of over $3 million related to their criminal activities.

Group members withdrew cash and brought it to Yến Sào Kingfood in District 11 and Duc Long jewelry store to illegally transfer USD to their accomplices in Cambodia.