On March 17, Hanoi Police announced the indictment of five defendants on charges of property fraud.

Investigations revealed that Tran Nam Chung, 40, had led this criminal ring since 2021. The group exploited their knowledge of cryptocurrency and digital asset trading, along with the buying and selling of digital currencies, to carry out their fraudulent activities.

The defendants in the case. Photo: Police

The defendants in the case. Photo: Police

To execute the scheme, Chung hired Bui Dinh Ngoc to write the smart contract code for issuing FTXF tokens, which served as the primary tool for soliciting funds from customers. Concurrently, Chung established a real estate exchange website and a reverse auction platform, both integrated with manipulative bots.

Following the launch of the FTXF cryptocurrency, Chung actively encouraged public investment to generate funds. To establish credibility, he falsely advertised that the FTXF token was developed by a technical team from the United Kingdom and possessed extensive utility across various digital applications.

Chung's group claimed, "This token operates on the WOWIDEX decentralized exchange, the WETAON enterprise social network, the PAYGATE payment gateway, and the ONSTORA reverse auction e-commerce platform."

Police searching the suspects' workplace. Photo: Police

Police searching the suspects' workplace. Photo: Police

Furthermore, the group organized workshops and financial classes to promote the FTXF crypto project, emphasizing its purported long-term growth potential. Once investors committed funds, the perpetrators would execute massive token dumps, causing the asset to lose value and liquidity, thereby defrauding investors of their money.

Police estimate that Chung's group has defrauded investors of tens of billions of dong. To aid the ongoing investigation, authorities urge all FTXF token investors from 2021 to the present to contact the Economic Police Department for cooperation.