Vietnam: trail of illegal gambling ring begins
Ten people are accused of involvement in operating two illegal gambling websites.
Vietnam.- A trial has begun in Hanoi for Nguyen Minh Thanh and 10 accomplices who allegedly ran two websites for online gambling. According to the prosecution, the sites took bets worth VN$1.18tn (US$47.4m) in four months.
According to VN Express, police became suspicious on August 18, 2021, when they withdrew a large sum of cash from an ATM. Officers stopped and questioned them, but they could not account for the origin of the money. Officers say Thanh created SOCVIP (later changed to SUMVIP) and VUACLUB, which allowed people to gamble using virtual currency.
Some 160 agents helped players exchange virtual money back into cash. In October 2021, police found Thanh to have five luxury cars worth VN$50bn and three apartments in Hanoi.
