Lam Dong Provincial Police announced on 18/9 that they have initiated legal proceedings against Tang Hoai Linh, 35, from TP HCM, and Ninh Van Tu, 32, from LangBiang ward, Da Lat. They are accused of illegally collecting, storing, exchanging, buying, selling, and disclosing bank account information. Both individuals have been prohibited from leaving their places of residence.
In connection with the same case, Dang Anh Khoa, 20, from D'ran commune, was temporarily detained for investigation into money laundering, under Article 324 of the Penal Code. Khoa was identified as being connected to Linh in the opening and selling of bank account information.
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Khoa (left) during the execution of the temporary detention order by the Investigation Police Agency. *Photo: Lam Dong Provincial Police*
According to initial investigations, in 2025, Linh and Tu purchased 139 bank accounts from various individuals, paying 5-9 million dong per account each month. Linh also instructed some account holders on how to bypass the bank's biometric authentication mechanism. The two then sold this account information to individuals in Cambodia for use in payment and transfer of funds related to gambling and betting activities. The total transaction value through the 139 accounts was determined to be over 2,000 billion dong.
Beyond these accounts, Linh also instructed Khoa to open 23 bank accounts and sell their information. Khoa then directly worked for a group involved in laundering money from social media scams. Investigators initially determined that during the last three months of 2025, 10 victims in Lam Dong, TP HCM, Hanoi, and several other localities transferred money through Khoa's accounts, with a total of over 2 billion dong stolen.
The case is currently under expanded investigation to clarify the roles of those involved and the flow of money through the accounts.
Police advise the public not to sell, rent, or lend bank accounts. They also caution against providing login information, passwords, one-time password (OTP) codes, biometric data, or facial images to others.
Hoai Thanh - Truong Ha
