On 21/12, Tran Quang Ut (residing in Phu My Bac commune, Gia Lai province), Mai Tan Minh (30, residing in Ea Mdroh commune), and 10 others were temporarily detained by Dak Lak Provincial Police for fraudulent appropriation of assets.

Tran Quang Ut (left) and Mai Tan Minh are accused of leading the scam network. Photo: Dak Lak Police

According to the investigation, in 9/2024, Ut and Tan launched the Kayple virtual project, introducing it as a blockchain ecosystem integrating a decentralized exchange (DEX) and a play-to-earn game platform. The suspects promoted the project, claiming it featured automated artificial intelligence (AI) trading, cross-chain compatibility, and a sustainable in-game economy, which would increase the value of Kay coins. They also claimed the system would automatically pay interest based on the investment amount.

Tan and Ut advertised the project as being established overseas, with participants from various countries. The suspects falsely claimed that the total supply of Kay coins was limited to 7 million, ensuring increasing scarcity and continuous value growth. At that time, one Kay was promoted at 2 USDT (approximately 52,000 VND), urging investors to join early for high returns.

Subsequently, Tan and Ut hired individuals to develop and promote the project in Ho Chi Minh City, Dak Lak, and Binh Duong. They organized workshops and online meetings, and created numerous Zalo and Telegram groups to guide investors. Within these groups, the suspects regularly posted images of monthly profits and displayed their assets to create a facade of wealth, thereby exploiting victims' trust.

During a search of Tran Quang Ut's home, police seized numerous land use rights certificates. Photo: Dak Lak Police

Investigators determined that all investor funds deposited into the Kayple project were immediately transferred to cryptocurrency wallets managed by Tan, who, along with Ut, then appropriated them for personal use. The USDT and Kay balances displayed in victims' Kayple e-wallets were merely virtual data, created by the programming team to deceive investors into believing the project was legitimate.

By late 8/2025, after exhausting the appropriated USDT and with no new investors joining, Tan and Ut agreed to collapse the system. The suspects announced that the overseas project was under maintenance and inaccessible. They then gradually depreciated the value of Kay coins to make victims believe their investments were lost, thus discouraging them from reporting to authorities.

Using these tactics, from 9/2024 to 8/2025, the suspects appropriated funds from over 4,000 investment wallets, totaling more than 51 million USDT, equivalent to approximately 1.275 trillion VND. The case is under expanded investigation.

Ngoc Oanh