Shark Binh's arrest: How did he get rich?

(Dan Tri) - Shark Binh has just been prosecuted and detained on charges of fraud and appropriation of a particularly large amount of money related to the AntEx cryptocurrency project. Before being arrested, Shark Binh was famous for many large investment deals.

How does Shark Binh make money?

Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh (aka Shark Binh)'s entrepreneurial journey began very early. In 2001, when he was a second-year student at Hanoi National University, Mr. Binh founded the software company PeaceSoft.

In 2013, PeaceSoft was restructured with its member companies to establish Future Technology Investment and Development Company Limited, then changed to NextTech Group Joint Stock Company.

The nickname Shark Binh comes from his role in the show "Shark Tank Vietnam".

In the program, big investors, who have financial potential and extensive business experience, are called "Sharks". This name symbolizes "hunters" who are ready to invest capital and "tear apart" the market.

With his straightforward, decisive style and practical advice, he has committed to investing in a series of potential startups, focusing on the fields of technology and innovation.

Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh at the Shark Tank Vietnam program (Photo: Organizing Committee).

In the program, Shark Binh attracted attention with his philosophy and extremely straightforward language style, imbued with business experience.

"First, it's too young and green! There are almost no results yet. Second, you haven't found the dragon vein. If you haven't found the dragon vein, you don't have the east wind. That means there's no launch pad to blow you up really fast," he once commented about a startup.

The phrase “dragon vein” refers to the core foundation, sustainable business model or unique competitive advantage that every startup needs to find to survive and develop. When startups have not identified their “dragon vein”, they will have a hard time convincing these technology “sharks”.

When it comes to assets, Shark Binh always avoids revealing specific assets, only saying: "I have enough house to live on, enough money to spend, and enough left over to invest. Being rich in love is true wealth."

Shark Binh has "closed deals" (committed to investing) in about 40 projects on Shark Tank Vietnam, but the number of projects that have actually been disbursed is very modest. He explained that many startups have "blown away" with information or failed to pass the rigorous post-show evaluation process.

"Turning point" in cryptocurrency investment

NextTech has developed into a multi-sector digital ecosystem with more than 20 member companies operating in the fields of e-commerce, fintech, logistics, startup investment and blockchain technology. Some of the group's prominent brands include Ngan Luong, Vimo, mPoS, Boxme, FastGo, NextPay and the Next100 investment fund.

NextTech is even considered as "Alibaba in Vietnam". Among them, nganluong.vn, an important member of this ecosystem, was honored by Red Herring magazine (USA) in the top 100 potential technology enterprises in Asia.

By 2020, NextTech had expanded its operations to many other countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand... and owned more than 20 member companies.

On its website, NextTech said it had thousands of employees. At the same time, NextTech also recorded its highest charter capital in its history at VND500 billion, after increasing from VND100 billion in December 2020. At that time, Shark Binh contributed VND350 billion (70% of capital).

Before getting caught up in the AntEx cryptocurrency scandal, Shark Binh's NextTech Group suddenly reduced its capital from 500 to 4 billion VND; Ngan Luong also reduced its charter capital by 85%.

In addition to the technology ecosystem, Shark Binh also expanded his operations into the real estate sector through NextLand Real Estate Investment and Trading Joint Stock Company.

NextLand was established in February 2021, expanding its strategy from the technology and fintech sector to real estate technology (PropTech). NextLand operates in three main areas: investing and developing potential real estate projects, distributing and marketing products using digital platforms, and cooperating with domestic and foreign investors to apply technology to the transaction process and project management.

Shark Binh spoke about the risks of investing in startups that raise capital through coin issuance at an event in September (Photo: Screenshot).

In addition, Mr. Binh was also the legal representative of a series of enterprises established in the period 2012-2020, operating in the fields of technology, e-commerce and logistics. However, according to business registration data, most of these companies have ceased operations or dissolved.

Notably, in 2021, NextTech announced the Next100 Blockchain fund with a scale of 50 million USD to invest in equity and early-stage digital assets of blockchain technology startups.

The group has been actively promoting and asserting its pioneering position in the blockchain field, considering it an important part of its future technology strategy.

Shark Binh, then the founder and chairman of the Next100 Blockchain fund, said that the biggest difference of the fund was the thorough appraisal process and the stamp of affirmation of the capacity and kindness of the project team.

However, according to the newly announced conclusion of the investigation agency, from August 2021 to November 2021, Shark Binh's group issued and sold 33.2 billion "AntEx digital currency" to about 30,000 investors on the exchanges, earning 4.5 million USDT (USDT is a digital currency, equivalent to 4.5 million USD, about 117 billion VND).

Police determined that Mr. Binh used his reputation and influence to post information on social networks about the launch of the "Next100 Blockchain" investment fund, pledging to invest in digital currency projects with a total capital of 50 million USD over 10 years.

However, so far, the investigation agency has determined that Mr. Binh and the founding shareholders withdrew money from about 30,000 investor wallets, appropriating an exceptionally large amount of money.

The investigation agency has temporarily detained and frozen money, securities accounts, and assets of the subjects such as nearly 600 taels of gold, 18 red books, 2 cars... with a total value of about 900 billion VND.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/vu-shark-binh-bi-bat-giau-len-nho-dau-20251015115129955.htm