Ha Tinh province's People's Court sentenced three individuals on 11/8 for their roles in a scheme involving the illegal sale of bank accounts and subsequent appropriation of funds. Phan Minh Chien, 30, received two years of non-custodial reform for illegally collecting and selling bank account information. His accomplices, Le Anh Nhat, 24, and Pham Van Thoai, 25, both from Vu Quang commune, were each sentenced to 7 years and 6 months in prison. Their charges included using computer networks and electronic means to appropriate property, in addition to the illegal collection and sale of bank account information. All three defendants confessed during the trial, expressing remorse and requesting leniency.

The three defendants at court, afternoon of 11/8. Photo: Hung Le

The indictment detailed the scheme, which began in 6/2024. Chien collaborated with an individual named "Thinh," reportedly working for an online gambling company in the Philippines, to acquire corporate bank accounts. Each account was purchased for 2 million VND, with the goal of bypassing Vietnam's biometric authentication requirements for individual accounts. Chien provided the citizen ID information of Nhat and Thoai to "Thinh," enabling the establishment of five "ghost" companies in Vu Quang commune and Truong Vinh ward, Nghe An. Between 4/7 and 26/7/2024, Chien instructed Nhat and Thoai to hire individuals to act as accountants. These individuals then opened 37 bank accounts under the names of the "ghost" companies, which were subsequently sold to "Thinh." The group received over 43 million VND for their services.

After handing over the bank application login credentials and the SIM cards for receiving one-time passwords to overseas contacts, Nhat and Thoai observed substantial illegal funds flowing into these accounts. This prompted them to devise a plan to appropriate the money. Leveraging their nominal roles as company directors, they secretly approached banks to freeze the accounts and subsequently withdrew funds for their personal use, all without Chien's knowledge. Authorities confirmed that Nhat appropriated 264 million VND from the account of Nhat 79 Co., Ltd. while in Hanoi. Thoai executed two withdrawals, totaling 214 million VND, from the accounts of TCHC 686 Co., Ltd. and Long Anh ACC Co., Ltd., located in Nghe An and Ha Tinh, respectively.

Duc Hung