Following Shark Thuy's arrest, Apax Leaders has suspended tuition fee refunds for parents.

The above information was released on March 26th by Apax English Joint Stock Company (a subsidiary of Egroup Education Group Joint Stock Company). The company will temporarily suspend the confirmation and settlement of tuition fees for parents. The company will also temporarily suspend tuition refunds until the conclusion of the police investigation related to Shark Thuy.

"Apax hopes to receive the understanding and support of parents," the statement said.

According to the announcement, Shark Thủy's arrest will not affect the operation and teaching activities at Apax's currently open English centers, including those in Hoàng Đạo Thúy ( Hanoi ), Cẩm Phả, Uông Bí (Quảng Ninh), Lê Hồng Phong (Hải Phòng), Hà Nam, Vĩnh Phúc, Hưng Yên, Hà Tĩnh, and Thanh Hóa.

Following Shark Thuy's arrest, Apax Leaders announced it would suspend tuition fee refunds. (Illustrative image: AP)

Currently, Ms. Nguyen Thi Dung, a member of the Board of Directors of Egame Company and a member of the leadership team of Egroup, is temporarily managing the group.

Earlier that day, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, Chairman of Egroup Education Group Joint Stock Company (also known as Shark Thuy), was indicted and temporarily detained on charges of fraud and appropriation of property.

Apax Leaders is a chain of English language centers for children belonging to the Egroup ecosystem, founded and managed by Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thuy. Since the end of 2022, many parents in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Dak Lak, and Da Nang have complained about many centers closing down, the quality of teaching not meeting the promised standards, and the centers abandoning customers with their money, demanding refunds of tuition fees.

In June 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training released statistics showing that Apax English Joint Stock Company was teaching approximately 11,295 students in the city, including 839 students currently studying in person, over 6,000 students who had deferred their studies, and over 4,300 students who had requested a refund.

The total tuition fee to be refunded to parents is over 108 billion VND. Of this amount, Apax has paid over 14 billion VND, leaving a debt of over 93 billion VND.

In addition, the unit owes teachers and staff salaries up to February 2023, totaling over 11 billion VND, and rent for premises amounting to 9 billion VND.

Apax had previously proposed a plan where, from January 2025 to December 2025, parents would pay 4 million VND each quarter, evenly distributed until the payment was completed. The remaining debt would be carried over to the following year. From January 2025 onwards, payments of 4.5 million VND would be made each quarter until the debt is fully settled.

Ha Cuong

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