Exposing the transnational trillion-dollar case (Part 2) - Lang Son Newspaper and Radio and Television Station

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- PART 2: FROM UNUSUAL SIGNS TO THE "CATCHING" OF THE TRILLION-DOLLAR CASE

In January 2025, at the headquarters of the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Lang Son Provincial Police), the atmosphere became tense. Using professional measures, officers and soldiers of the unit discovered a lot of unusual information related to an organization called Ame Global. A network with thousands of accounts and a Taiwanese (Chinese) "boss" hiding behind the cover of a successful investor gradually revealed itself. The investigation by the police force, in which the main force was the Lang Son Provincial Police and the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department ( Ministry of Public Security ) lasted for many months, tense and fierce, and then ended with the "catch" of the shocking trillion-dollar case.

The Ame Global case is a complex, large-scale case involving foreign, transnational elements and many provinces and cities in the country. The activities of the subjects are extremely sophisticated, using high technology and social networking platforms to create associations, closed, public groups and virtual accounts to promote, propagate and attract people to invest financially in the Ame Global model; use bank accounts to circulate money flows with particularly large amounts of money... to conceal criminal acts. In this case, determining the identity, background, methods, tools and means of criminal activities of the subjects is extremely difficult, requiring urgency, perseverance and close coordination with related units.

Stringing together the first clues

The first complaints from people about not receiving commissions made the special detectives step in. Initially, it was just isolated complaints in closed Facebook and Zalo groups such as "Account locked", "Invested, no one paid"... But the deeper the detectives and investigators dug, the more they discovered that this was not simply a civil dispute but a well-organized network with foreign elements.

Leaders and officers of the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department ( Lang Son Provincial Police) discuss investigation techniques for the Ame Global case.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Thai Son, Head of the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Lang Son Provincial Police) recounted: “We identified unusual signs at the end of 2024. After synthesizing information from intelligence sources, we began to monitor synchronously on cyberspace. The surprising thing was that the spread of Ame Global was so fast, organized, and had a clear scenario.”

Facebook and TikTok accounts use the same formula: livestream – prove income – create crowd effect – call for registration. But the more important part is that “closed groups” only share when they have recruited new members, using referral codes to control the flow of members.

The more the investigation team monitored, the more it became clear that Ame Global's 20-level binary model could not operate sustainably, because the actual source of money did not come from product value but from new investors.

Ame Global's bonus level

With the spirit of determination not to let criminals escape, since March 2025, Lang Son Provincial Police have presided over and coordinated with the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention and Control and a number of professional departments of the Ministry of Public Security, Ho Chi Minh City Police, Dong Nai Provincial Police and relevant agencies of the Ministry and branches to investigate and clarify the case.

From the collected login IDs and referral codes, the police found thousands of bank accounts used to "purchase products", "pay rewards", "collect fees" and "transfer commissions" with a series of illegal activities with extremely large amounts of money.

Using many flexible and creative professional measures, the spearhead of the project has tracked down the identity of the leader. Based on the business registration information of WIN ALL Trading Company Limited (Ame Global Vietnam), a man named HWY, a Taiwanese (Chinese) national, appeared as the director.

Initial information shows that this person entered Vietnam as a tourist in mid-2024. In fact, he directly directed the operation via Zoom, operating from an office in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan (China). The key people in Vietnam were just intermediaries, receiving a percentage to coordinate the system.

Head of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (Lang Son Provincial Police) provided information about the case and shared the journey of solving the case with reporters of Lang Son Newspaper and Radio and Television Station.

One of the biggest challenges is the transnational nature of the case. Key subjects frequently move and hide abroad, making it difficult to locate and arrest them, requiring close coordination with domestic and international authorities. In addition, the remaining subjects in the network may continue to operate, seek to disperse assets or make it difficult for the investigation. Collecting sufficient evidence to prove the criminal acts of each subject is also a challenge, requiring meticulousness, patience and sharp professional measures.

In particular, the use of social media platforms for advertising, opening access links and financial transactions also creates many barriers to investigation. Traces of crimes in cyberspace are easily erased or changed, making it difficult to recover and identify the subject. Financial transactions over the internet are also more complicated in tracing money flows and identifying related accounts.

Ame Global regularly organizes activities that attract a large number of members to participate (Photo: Provided by the Police)

To clarify the criminal acts of the subjects in the ring, the Provincial Police sent many reconnaissance teams with experienced officers to continuously monitor the area and spend many months "undercover" in Ho Chi Minh City and many provinces and cities, while strengthening cooperation with related units and forces, especially with professional units of the Ministry of Public Security.

Lieutenant Colonel LTT, Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Lang Son Provincial Police) shared: “This is one of the most complicated cases we have ever faced. The subjects not only operate across borders but also have high technology skills, knowledge of economics, knowledge of the law and measures to deal with the police. Collecting documents, evidence to prove the crime and identifying the subjects is a big challenge. We received the coordination and support of the Department of Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention, along with that, we have applied many professional measures synchronously, closely coordinated with units inside and outside the province, and especially had to race against time to prevent the subjects from dispersing assets and escaping. In addition, we do not let people continue to fall into traps or lose money when leaving Vietnam.

"Catching the net": Simultaneously arresting 12 subjects

On May 16, 2025, after many months of collecting evidence, police task forces were simultaneously deployed in Ho Chi Minh City, Thai Nguyen, Lang Son, Dong Nai and Bac Ninh. Search warrants, prosecutions and temporary detentions of 12 key subjects in the ring were carried out almost simultaneously.

Seized evidence: 85 cartons containing nearly 15,000 mushroom boxes, more than 2,000 bottles of functional foods of unknown origin, 35,000 fake labels, 1 car, 16 mobile phones and Ipads, 6 computers, more than 20 bank cards, contracts, books, and financial transaction documents.

A large quantity of Niu Zhangzhi mushroom products, considered "Taiwan's national treasure", are kept by Ame Global Company in a makeshift, shabby warehouse.
(Photo: Provided by Police)

Through the investigation, the role of each subject in the Ame Global chain was gradually clarified. Besides the "boss" HWY of Taiwanese nationality (China), the Director of Ame Global Company who operated remotely, subjects such as Ngo Huu Thap, Lang Thi Thuy Dung, Luu Quoc Ngoc, Tran Tran Quyen and 8 other subjects played the role of important "links" in developing the network, organizing seminars, promoting products and collecting money from participants.

Subject Tran Chan Quyen expressed regret, because the profit attracted many people to join the system: “I myself, because of greed, because of greed for profit. In addition to the money spent on buying goods, each person gets a profit, buying more makes more profit. Personally, I go to deploy, introduce friends, the profit is even greater, because I am attracted by benefits, from those profits I continue to pursue benefits to move up the ranks. There are 8 ranks, so I also try to reach that rank as soon as possible to focus on profits. That is blindness”.

The Investigation Security Agency of Lang Son Provincial Police decided to prosecute and temporarily detain Nguyen Dang Bac and Tong Thi Hong Tham.
(Photo: Provided by Police)

Subject Lang Thi Thuy Dung, the subject assigned to pack the products, said: "Receive products sent from abroad to pack, label, put in a press, pack in a cardboard box, but do not know the origin of the products."

Some other subjects initially confessed: “We were just subordinates. Every month we followed the quota, introduced new people, and received commissions. We never expected to be prosecuted…”. But when confronted with financial evidence, their statements were quickly rejected.

Lieutenant Colonel Vu Manh Hung, Head of the Investigation Security Department (Lang Son Provincial Police) said: We clearly identified the role of each subject, from those who directly attracted investors, managed the system at different levels to those who were legally responsible for the subsidiary in Vietnam. The simultaneous arrest of 12 subjects is an important step to completely destroy this criminal network.

Currently, despite initial successes, the authorities are still facing many difficulties and challenges in the process of expanding the investigation into the Ame Global case, especially in capturing the foreign leader and clarifying the entire network of operations of this line.

The successful arrest of the suspects has brought hope to thousands of victims, showing that the efforts of the police force have initially brought results. However, the investigation is not over yet and the authorities are continuing to expand the case, arrest the related subjects and clarify the origin of the huge transaction amount, with the hope of recovering maximum assets for the victims. The Ame Global case is a testament to the determination of the police force in general, and Lang Son police in particular, in fighting economic crimes, protecting the rights and legitimate interests of the people.

In part 3, we will continue to follow the victims after the incident broke out. The losses, psychological consequences and painful lessons of a society that is not "resistant" enough to the whirlwind of digital finance.

The Ame Global case is a serious and complicated case, involving many domestic and foreign subjects. Lang Son Provincial Police is committed to making every effort to thoroughly investigate, protect the people and maintain security and order. Therefore, Lang Son Provincial Police still have a lot of work to do. We focus on investigating and expanding the case; continuing to fight against the subjects who have been arrested, consolidating evidence, clarifying criminal acts and dismantling the entire network. Along with that, we also focus on prevention and propaganda to make people vigilant against multi-level fraud. The investigation agency also calls on people and victims to continue to provide information and documents to support the investigation and thorough handling of the case.

Colonel Nguyen Xuan Thu,

Deputy Director of Lang Son Provincial Police

(To be continued)

Part 3: Expensive lessons and wake-up calls

Source: https://baolangson.vn/vach-tran-vu-an-nghin-ty-xuyen-quoc-gia-5048034.html