The Ho Chi Minh City People's Court will try Tho, Nhien, and 40 other individuals for illegally trading invoices and state budget collection documents, and tax evasion, from September 22 to 26. Prosecutors additionally charged Nhien with bribery.
In a related case, Nguyen Thanh Nghia, a former tax officer at Tax Office Unit 3, Ho Chi Minh City, faces charges of receiving bribes.
According to the indictment, from 2016 to 2020, Tho assisted Bui Van Bao (who was tried in another case) in acquiring 377 bogus invoices from 42 businesses managed by Do Duy Linh (a defendant in another case). Tho then resold these invoices to various individuals. The total value recorded on these invoices exceeded 107 billion dong.
Between 2020 and 2021, Tho continued to purchase over 280 bogus invoices, totaling more than 47 billion dong, from 16 of Bao's companies, reselling them to other businesses.
From 2020 to 2023, Tho established his own network. He used lost or misplaced national ID cards to hire services for company formation and information changes. Tho purchased blank invoices, electronic invoice software, and digital signatures, subsequently creating 57 "ghost" companies that had no actual production or business operations.
Tho used these businesses to illegally issue and sell over 9,000 fraudulent VAT invoices, with a total pre-tax value exceeding 1,770 billion dong, to 532 companies, agencies, and organizations.
Investigators determined that, including the invoices Tho helped Bao trade and those issued by his own network, Tho illegally sold over 9,600 fraudulent VAT invoices, with a total pre-tax value exceeding 1,929 billion dong.
During the investigation, Tho denied his actions. However, the Investigation Security Agency of the Ministry of Public Security, based on collected evidence, determined that Tho illicitly profited over 10 billion dong from illegally trading over 2,200 of the 9,600 bogus invoices. Tho paid Bao over 380 million dong. Investigators separated the remaining over 7,390 invoices for further investigation and handling in phase 2.
Prosecutors charged 22 individuals who illegally purchased invoices from Tho with tax evasion.
Illegal trading network of over 47,000 invoices
As another branch of the case, Nhien is accused of operating an illegal invoice trading network with a larger value than Tho's.
Investigators determined that Nhien recognized the substantial profits from trading bogus invoices. From 2020 to 2023, Nhien used borrowed or online-purchased ID cards to register 51 "ghost" companies. These companies issued fraudulent VAT invoices, which Nhien sold to numerous businesses, agencies, and organizations nationwide.
Investigation results indicate that Nhien and his accomplices used these entities to illegally issue and sell over 47,000 invoices to 431 companies, with a total value exceeding 4,180 billion dong.
Within the scope of this case, investigators determined Nhien was responsible for over 3,900 of the 47,000 invoices, illicitly profiting over 36 billion dong. Investigators separated the other over 43,100 bogus invoices for processing in phase 2. Over ten employees assisted Nhien.
Eleven individuals purchased bogus invoices from Nhien, including several directors, representatives, and accountants of businesses.
Tax officer 'protected' illegal invoice trading network
Nhien is also accused of attempting to conceal the invoice issuance. In 2020, Nhien connected with and agreed to bribe Nguyen Thanh Nghia, a tax official at Tax Office Unit 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Nghia instructed Nhien to register business addresses for 24 "ghost" companies in the former District 3 area. Nghia also refrained from inspecting these companies or demanding explanations for the bogus invoices.
Nghia instructed the companies to issue bogus invoices for less than one year, then cease operations, change their registered business addresses to other areas, and complete procedures to stop activity. This strategy aimed to avoid detection by the General Department of Taxation's management software. Nhien repeatedly bribed Nghia with over 3.8 billion dong.
Additionally, from October 2024 to February 2025, Nhien gave 3.9 billion dong and 123,000 USD (over 3.1 billion dong) to Nguyen Minh Mai, along with 500 million dong to Vu Dinh Giang. This money was intended to find individuals who could offer bribes to help Nhien avoid criminal prosecution. However, Mai and Giang embezzled the money instead of bribing anyone.
Judicial bodies handled the actions of Mai and Giang in another case.
Hai Duyen
