Vietnam law enforcement have announced the shutdown of a billion-dollar money laundering operation linked to online gambling. It followed the bust of an illegal sports-betting ring that reaped millions.
On 23 January, AFP reports, officers in Danang arrested five people in the money laundering case, which brought VND30 billion (£960.9 million/€1.14 billion/$1.2 billion) in tainted funds into Vietnam.
Between 2022 and 2024, the sophisticated gang, which included bank employees, used fake IDs, business registration certificates and bank seals to establish 187 phony businesses holding 600 corporate bank accounts.
Through the accounts, they washed money that originated in offshore gambling and fraud. Police called it the biggest money laundering case in the city’s history.
Black market sports betting takedown
The news comes on the heels of another gambling-related raid. On 21 January, Vietnamese police announced they had uncovered a multimillion-dollar online gambling operation run by gangster Tran Trung Hieu, or Hieu De.
The illegal football-betting operation, based in Dong Nai province, hauled in VND1.2 trillion since 2023. Police arrested Hieu De and 15 others in the sting, and seized more than VND1.1 billion in cash. They described the operation as “professional, complex, and executed using sophisticated methods,” according to Vietnamnet.
Online gambling is illegal in Vietnam, but the black market is worth an estimated VND250.6 trillion, spurred by demand and the accessibility of internet sportsbooks. Most of the bets are placed on international football.
Last year, the Vietnam National Assembly Standing Committee set 2025 as the deadline for the government to amend Decree 6, legislation that could open the door to legal sports betting.
Original article: https://igamingbusiness.com/money-laundering/vietnam-police-uncover-billion-dollar-money-laundering-ring/
