In connection with the arrest of TikToker Mr Pips (Phó Đức Nam), the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency has prosecuted 31 defendants and identified 2,661 victims nationwide. So far, the investigative agency has seized assets estimated at 5.2 trillion VND.
Among them, 316 billion VND in accounts; 9 billion VND in bonds; 200 billion VND in savings books; 69 billion VND in cash; 890 SJC gold pieces; 246 kg of raw gold; 31 luxury cars; 7 high-end motorcycles; 59 luxury brand watches worth about 300 billion VND; 84 pieces of jewelry made of gold and encrusted with diamonds; and 125 real estate properties have been frozen.
In relation to this case, on December 11, the Cầu Giấy District Police in Hanoi reported that the investigative agency had received reports from 18 victims with a total amount of more than 28 billion VND being appropriated.
According to the investigative agency, in addition to the victims listed, there are many other victims who have not reported, and the agency has yet to determine the information and amount of money that the suspect has appropriated.
One of the victims who reported is B.N.L. (22 years old, from Quảng Ninh, a student at FPT University).
According to the report, through researching on Facebook and TikTok, L. learned about Phó Đức Nam as an expert in stock investment, frequently posting videos and images of luxury cars, watches, and expensive homes. L. developed a desire to be like Nam.
L. stated that at the beginning of June, through a message (on Facebook), Phó Đức Nam introduced L. to invest in stocks through a platform called JPexchange.com and guided the male student to buy stock codes such as NVIDA, NOVELIS, XAUUSD, XAGUSD, WTI… He made a total of 37 transactions transferring money from his personal account to Phó Đức Nam’s stock exchange, after which his account was “burned”. The total amount L. was scammed out of was 8 billion VND.
Using a similar method, on May 7, L.D.L. (34 years old, from Nghi Lộc District, Nghệ An) received a strange phone call from a woman introducing herself as Phuong Lan, a consultant for the international securities company Alpha, advising D.L. to participate in investment, promising that by simply creating an account and depositing money, someone would guide him on how to play. The suspect promised this was a simple business model that could generate extra income…
At that time, D.L. had no knowledge of stock investment and did not participate. Later, Phuong Lan continuously called to persuade and entice D.L. to agree.
Phuong Lan used Zalo “Phuong Lan” to send a friend request to D.L. and provided him with many details about people who had participated in investment before and made profits. Subsequently, D.L. provided his email and bank account number for the “consultant” to create an MT5 account and an account on gtmx.com.
After D.L. deposited money into the platform, on June 6, Phuong Lan introduced Hoàng Long, an “expert” with investment experience, who would assist D.L.
According to the investigation agency, Hoàng Long was a technical staff member who had the role of advising and directly caring for D.L.
Hoàng Long later introduced and guided D.L. to buy stock codes such as XAUUSD, WTI, ITA20, EURUSD, BRENT…. D.L. made a total of 6 transactions, transferring a total of 5.6 billion VND from his personal account to the stock exchange.
Police Encounter Many Difficulties in Arresting Phó Đức Nam
Regarding the challenges during the investigation, Colonel Thành Kiên Trung – Head of the Cầu Giấy District Police (Hanoi), Head of the Special Investigation Team, stated that this is a unique case involving high-tech crime that always uses virtual space, virtual accounts, and “ghost” identities to operate, making the investigative work very difficult.
“The suspects use anonymous methods, so it is impossible to know their real identities. However, through professional techniques, special measures, expertise, and the high determination of the police force, the Special Investigation Team has clarified the specific identities of each suspect” – Colonel Trung said.
Regarding the process of recovering the assets worth more than 5.2 trillion VND, Colonel Thành Kiên Trung stated that the Cầu Giấy District Police and the Special Investigation Team used a team of investigators, officers, and synchronized coordination with the People’s Procuracy of Hanoi, the People’s Procuracy of Cầu Giấy District, and various professional units such as the Criminal Investigation Department of Hanoi Police, as well as direct guidance from the Police Department’s leadership, including Major General Nguyễn Thanh Tùng – Deputy Director of Hanoi Police. Through that, the task force applied multiple professional measures and simultaneous attacks on storage points, hiding places, and identified the assets of the suspects acquired from criminal activities.
“Since we were proactive and had a force “thick enough, necessary, and strong enough”, the recovery of all assets was very convenient and thorough” – said the Head of the Special Investigation Team, Colonel Thành Kiên Trung.
Further discussing the number of victims in the case, Lieutenant Colonel Cao Văn Thái – Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of Hanoi Police, stated that during a very short investigation period, the number of 2,661 victims was extracted from a portion of a computer (out of 280 computers seized) from the sales and leadership suspects, from which information and names of victims who had initially deposited money amounting to approximately 50 million USD were extracted.
“This is the information of victims from a portion of the seized computer. Therefore, the investigative agency is currently continuing to verify, recording testimonies from victims who were scammed until they ran out of money… to determine the total amount of money” – Lieutenant Colonel Thái said.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Cao Văn Thái, Phó Đức Nam is the mastermind and can be said to be the leader of the largest fraud ring in Vietnam in the field of foreign exchange securities. Phó Đức Nam is often in Cambodia and occasionally returns to Vietnam.
“After identifying the suspect, the task force proceeded to arrest Phó Đức Nam in P1, Q.4, Ho Chi Minh City” – Lieutenant Colonel Thái shared.