On 10/7, Hai (41, a master's degree holder and financial consultant) was found guilty by the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court of usury in civil transactions.

Five other defendants were fined between 200 and 250 million dong for the same offense. Verevkin Vladimir (36, a Russian national) received a sentence of one year, 11 months, and five days in prison, equal to the time he had already served in pre-trial detention, for the same crime.

According to the Judicial Council, the defendants' actions were continuous, affected many individuals, and impacted credit and economic activities. The prosecution of the defendants was well-founded, with defendant Hai playing a primary role, directly hiring other defendants to commit the crime and profiting from it.

Previously, during questioning, the defendants admitted their wrongdoing. However, Hai claimed he was not the mastermind or the one who established the network, but was only authorized to recruit and manage for the company in Singapore.

The defendants in the case were released on bail and participated in the trial. Photo: Binh Nguyen

The indictment stated that in late 2016, Do Minh Hai, along with two Russian nationals, Alexey Bychkov and Sergey Lykosov, established a company in Singapore to organize large-scale consumer lending activities through the atmonline website.

To implement operations in Vietnam, this group used two legal entities: ATM Online Company, which offered financial consulting services, and TM 24H Company, which provided pawnshop services. Hai was identified as the mastermind, directing and managing all activities of both companies in his role as Financial Director.

The remaining individuals included Tran Dinh Trien, the legal representative of TM 24H Company; Verevkin Vladimir, who served as General Director in charge of Vietnam, managing the automated calling system and risks; Nguyen Thi Thuy Diem, the Operations Director; Do Thi Minh Hieu, the Loan Appraisal Team Leader; Nguyen Thanh Sang, the G0, G1 Debt Collection Team Leader; and Pham Thi Ngoc Bich, the G3 Debt Collection Team Leader. The prosecuting agency determined that these defendants played an active role in operating the lending system.

The defendants used the pre-programmed website atmonline.vn to establish an automated disbursement process. Simultaneously, they created "asset pledge agreements" in the form of electronic contracts with TM 24H Company to conceal the true nature of the loan transactions. In addition to the 12% annual interest rate stated in the contracts, the group also collected service fees, consulting fees, and platform fees.

From 2019 to 2023, TM 24H Company disbursed over 3.708 trillion dong for 738,933 loan applications. The actual interest rates borne by customers ranged from nearly 125% to over 13,500% per year, which was 6 to 675 times higher than the legally stipulated maximum interest rate. The illicit profits obtained by the defendants were determined to be over 720 million dong, involving 26 borrowers.

The case also involved a group of Russian nationals; however, these individuals had left the country, so the investigative agency will consider prosecuting them when there is a basis to do so.

Binh Nguyen