Vietnam: 18 to face for alleged bribery and illegal poker operation

They allegedly paid bribes to police.

Vietnam.- Nguyen Minh Hai will be tried before the Khanh Hoa People’s Committee on June 5 for allegedly leading an illegal gambling operation and bribing police. Some 17 other people will be tried for gambling, organising bets and giving bribes. They include Ham Heungchul, a South Korean man.

As reported by VN Express, the illegal gambling operation was discovered on February 3, 2023, in the Phuoc Hai district. Police found seven people playing poker with 582 chips worth more than VND300m (US$11,781). Police believe the operation made about 6 NDbn between June 2022 and February 2023.

Hai Is also accused of running 10 poker tables in a hotel area on Nguyen Thien Thuat Street between 2017 and 2020. It’s alleged that in September 2020 he agreed to make monthly payments to Luong Tien Quan, a deputy division head of the criminal police department under the Ministry of Public Security. Prosecutors said Hai and accomplices transferred VND420m to Quan several times between March 2022 and January 2023