In relation to the arrest of TikToker Mr Pips (Phó Đức Nam), the authorities of Hanoi have initiated investigations which led to the arrest of 31 suspects and the identification of 2,661 victims across the country. To date, the authorities have seized assets amounting to 5,200 billion VND.
Among these assets, 316 billion VND are in accounts; 9 billion VND are in cash; 200 billion VND are in savings; 69 billion VND in cash; 890 grams of SJC gold; 246 kilograms of raw gold; 31 supercars; 7 luxury motorcycles; 59 luxury brand watches worth approximately 300 billion VND; and 84 gold-plated pages, along with 125 real estate properties.
On December 11, in connection with this case, the police in Cau Giay District, Hanoi, announced that they had received 18 complaints from victims, with total losses exceeding 28 billion VND.
According to the investigating authorities, in addition to the victims reported, there are many other victims who have not yet filed complaints. The authorities have not yet determined how much money the suspects have embezzled.
One of the reported victims is B.N.L. (22 years old, residing in Quang Ninh, a student at FPT University).
According to the report, through information found on Facebook and TikTok, L. learned that Phó Đức Nam was an investment expert who frequently posted videos and images of supercars, luxury watches, and expensive houses. L. was eager to invest like Nam.
L. stated that around early June, through a message (on Facebook), Phó Đức Nam introduced L. to invest in a trading platform called JPexchange.com and guided the student to purchase shares such as NVIDA, NOVELIS, XAUUSD, XAGUSD, WTI… L. executed a total of 37 transactions transferring money from personal accounts to Nam’s trading platform, after which the account was “burned.” The total amount L. lost was 8 billion VND.
Similarly, on May 7, L.D.L. (34 years old, residing in Nghi Loc District, Nghe An) received a phone call from a woman introducing herself as Phương Lan, an employee of the international securities company Alpha, advising D.L. to invest, only needing to create an account and deposit money under her guidance. The suspects exploited this as a simple business model, which could generate additional income…
At that time, D.L. was not aware of what stock trading was, so he had not participated. After that, Phương Lan kept contacting to persuade, even using threats to convince D.L. to agree.
Phương Lan used the Zalo app to send messages to D.L. and provided him with information about previous investors who had made a profit. After that, D.L. provided an email and bank account number to a “consultant” who created an MT5 account and an account on the gtmx.com platform.
After D.L. deposited money into the platform, by June 6, Phương Lan introduced Hoàng Long, an “expert” with experience in stock investment, to support D.L.
According to the investigating authorities, Hoàng Long was a technical staff member, who had the role of consulting and directly assisting D.L.
Hoàng Long then guided D.L. to buy shares such as XAUUSD, WTI, ITA20, EURUSD, BRENT… D.L. executed a total of 6 transactions, transferring 5.6 billion VND from personal accounts to the trading platform.
The police face many challenges in arresting Phó Đức Nam
Regarding the difficulties in the investigation process, Major Thành Kiên Trung – Head of the Cau Giay District Police (Hanoi), Head of the Special Case Committee stated that this is a special case, involving high-tech crime and always using virtual space, virtual accounts, and identifying “ghost” entities to operate, hence the investigation work faces many difficulties.
“The suspects use anonymization methods, so it is impossible to identify their real identities. However, with professional knowledge, special methods, and the high determination of the police force, the Special Case Committee has clarified the identities of the suspects involved.” – Major Trung said.
Regarding the process of recovering over 5,200 billion VND in assets, according to Major Thành Kiên Trung, the Cau Giay District Police and the Special Case Committee have utilized a police task force, investigators, and cooperation with the Hanoi People’s Procuracy, the Cau Giay District People’s Procuracy, and relevant agencies such as the Hanoi Police’s Criminal Investigation Department along with the direct guidance of Deputy Chief of Hanoi Police Major General Nguyễn Thanh Tùng. Through this, the task force has been able to employ various professional methods, many investigative measures to penetrate the hiding places, identify the assets of the suspects due to their criminal activities.
“Due to having a strong force and a well-equipped force, the recovery of all assets has been very favorable and effective” – the Head of the Special Case Committee, Major Thành Kiên Trung, said.
To add about the number of victims in the case, Deputy Chief Cao Văn Thái – Deputy Head of the Criminal Investigation Department of Hanoi Police stated that during the investigation, a significant number of 2,661 victims were extracted from one part of the seized computers (from a total of 280 seized computers) of the suspects, who had extracted information, names of victims who initially deposited money amounting to approximately 50 million USD.
“This is information about the victims extracted from a portion of seized computers. Therefore, the investigating authorities are continuing to verify, recording the declarations of victims who lost money to determine how much total money was lost…” – Deputy Chief Thái said.
According to Deputy Chief Cao Văn Thái, Phó Đức Nam is a suspect with a large scale of operations and can be considered the largest fraudster in Vietnam in the field of foreign investment in the stock market. The suspect Phó Đức Nam often resides in Cambodia and frequently connects with Vietnam.
“After identifying the suspects, the task force has proceeded to arrest Phó Đức Nam at P1, Q.4, Ho Chi Minh City” – Deputy Chief Thái shared.
