The 'Mr. Pips' case file is being returned for further investigation.

(Chinhphu.vn) - The Hanoi People's Procuracy has issued a decision to return the case file to the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency for further investigation into the case of Pho Duc Nam (aka Mr. Pips) and 82 other defendants who were prosecuted for the crimes of "Fraudulent appropriation of property," "Money laundering," "Harboring property obtained through criminal activity," "Failure to report a crime," and "Tax evasion."

Defendants Pho Duc Nam (aka Mr. Pips) and Le Khac Ngo (aka Mr. Hunter on the right) - Photo: Hanoi City People's Procuracy

According to the Decision to return the case file for further investigation, based on Articles 41, 174, 240 and 245 of the Criminal Procedure Code; based on the Criminal Investigation Conclusion Report recommending prosecution dated February 12, 2026, of the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Hanoi City Police, the Hanoi City People's Procuracy finds that, during the prosecution phase, on March 4, 2026, the wanted defendants Tran Quoc Huy and Phan Thi Hoa surrendered to the investigating agency.

The Investigating Agency's request to withdraw the case files for "Fraudulent appropriation of property," "Money laundering," "Harboring property obtained through criminal activity," "Failure to report a crime," and "Tax evasion," as per the Criminal Case Initiation Decision dated October 30, 2024, and merge them with the case under the Investigation Resumption Decision dated March 4, 2026, is well-founded.

Therefore, the Hanoi People's Procuracy decided to return the case file according to the Indictment Decision dated October 30, 2024, to be merged with the case according to the Investigation Resumption Decision dated March 4, 2026, of the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency, in order to ensure that the case is resolved objectively, comprehensively, and fully; the supplementary investigation period shall not exceed 2 months.

Previously, the Hanoi City Police Investigation Agency completed its investigation report and recommended that the Hanoi City People's Procuracy prosecute 75 defendants, including Pho Duc Nam (aka Mr. Pips, born in 1994, residing in Tam Thang Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), who was recommended for prosecution on two charges: "Fraudulent appropriation of property" (as stipulated in Article 174 of the Penal Code) and "Money laundering" (as stipulated in Article 324 of the Penal Code).

In this case, as of the date of issuance of the Criminal Investigation Conclusion recommending prosecution on February 12, 2026, the investigating agency had initiated criminal proceedings against a total of 83 defendants. The investigating agency has forwarded the Investigation Conclusion and case files to the Hanoi People's Procuracy, recommending the prosecution of 75 defendants.

Specifically, two defendants, Pho Duc Nam and Nguyen Thanh Phong (born in 1990, residing in Cau Ben commune, Tay Ninh province), are recommended for prosecution on charges of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" and "Money laundering"; six defendants are recommended for prosecution on charges of "Money laundering," including Nguyen Hoa Binh (aka Shark Binh, born in 1981, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ngan Luong Joint Stock Company); 65 defendants are recommended for prosecution on charges of "Fraudulent appropriation of property"; one defendant is recommended for prosecution on charges of "Tax evasion" and "Money laundering"; and one defendant is recommended for prosecution on charges of "Harboring property obtained through criminal activity."

Regarding the eight fugitives, including Isik Uran (Turkish national); Vuong Phuong Anh; Dang Hoang Lien Anh; Trinh Van Thai; Phan Thi Hoa; Tran Van Lam; Le Ha Trang; and Tran Quoc Huy, the investigating agency has issued arrest warrants and separated their files for further investigation and prosecution for the crime of fraud and appropriation of property.

According to the investigation's conclusions, in 2019, Pho Duc Nam discussed and agreed with a person named Isik Uran (born in 1984, Turkish nationality) to create 36 websites and instructed his subordinates to open "shell" companies.

The perpetrators used the names of these companies to recruit personnel, sign contracts for providing telephone number rental services for the Zoiper application, and open 69 bank accounts and accounts at intermediary payment companies linked to the aforementioned exchanges to receive investment money from victims.

Phó Đức Nam rented offices in major cities and provinces such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, and Binh Duong (formerly) to recruit employees for various departments, carrying out independent activities that closely complemented each other to form a complete system for defrauding and appropriating assets. The investigation documents provide sufficient grounds to determine that Phó Đức Nam committed the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of assets" as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 174 of the Penal Code, acting as the mastermind and leader, responsible for all 738 fraudulent cases, appropriating over 1,300 billion VND.

The accomplice who provided significant assistance to Nam has been identified as suspect Le Khac Ngo (aka Mr. Hunter, born in 1990, residing in Phu Dien Ward, Hanoi). Ngo discussed with Pho Duc Nam the expansion of the stock and forex trading system in Vietnam on a nationwide scale.

Ngo was entrusted by Nam with managing 20 business offices to entice and persuade victims to invest in order to seize their assets. The investigation documents provide sufficient grounds to determine that Le Khac Ngo committed the crime of "Fraudulent appropriation of property" as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 174 of the Penal Code, acting as an active accomplice, with Nam playing the role of mastermind and leader. Ngo is responsible for 180 fraudulent cases; the amount of assets seized totaled 216 billion VND.

Regarding Nguyen Hoa Binh (Shark Binh), Tran Thi Thanh Tam, and Nguyen Thi Nam, the investigating agency determined that: From June 2020, the defendants Nguyen Hoa Binh, Nguyen Thi Nam, and Tran Thi Thanh Tam knew that the trading platforms DK Trade, ASX, ACX, Sea Investing, Honor, and ScopeMarkets, owned by Pho Duc Nam, were operating illegally and were being investigated by the police; however, in order to profit from transaction fees collected from the Ngan Luong wallet accounts of these forex platforms, Binh instructed Nam and Tam to continue providing customer service and keeping the Ngan Luong wallets of these platforms operational.

At the same time, Binh instructed Nam and Tam to communicate with Pho Duc Nam and employees of the trading platforms, agreeing on how to falsify data and then provide information about fake wallets and transaction history of fake wallets to the police in order to hinder the verification of the victims' money transfers and the operation of the real Ngan Luong wallets of the forex platform.

Investigators determined that from June 15, 2020 to September 23, 2022, a total of 150 victims transferred over 213.4 billion VND into Ngan Luong e-wallet accounts at various banks, under the name of Ngan Luong Joint Stock Company, to invest in forex trading platforms: GKFX, DK Trade, ASX, ACX, and Sea Investing, owned by Pho Duc Nam.

The collected documents provide sufficient grounds to conclude that Nguyen Hoa Binh, Tran Thi Thanh Tam, and Nguyen Thi Nam committed the crime of "Money Laundering" as stipulated in Clause 3, Article 324 of the Penal Code.

According to the investigating agency, this is a particularly serious case of fraud, money laundering, harboring assets obtained through criminal activity, and tax evasion, occurring in Hanoi and several other provinces and cities nationwide. The perpetrators are a transnational organized crime group, using information technology and the Internet to establish illegal international stock and foreign exchange trading platforms.

In this case, the defendants used sophisticated methods and tactics to evade detection by law enforcement agencies, such as: arranging independent working departments; communicating, managing, and directing through highly secure applications; and thoroughly exploiting various OTT services (Zalo, Telegram, Signal, Zoiper application, etc.) for communication and advertising the illegal trading platform's activities to carry out their illegal activities.

Toan Thang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/tra-ho-so-vu-mr-pips-de-dieu-tra-bo-sung-102260420091750794.htm