On 16/12, Da Nang City Police announced the initiation of criminal proceedings, indictment, and temporary detention of Huynh Duc Van (residing in Hoa Cuong ward) and seven accomplices. They are being investigated for fraud and appropriation of assets through a virtual currency multi-level marketing scheme.

The fraud group led by Van (black shirt, center) at the police station. *Photo: Tu Anh*

According to investigators, starting in early 2020, Van connected with three individuals in Ho Chi Minh City and other accomplices to devise a virtual currency project named DRK. The group used social media for extensive promotion, disseminating false information about the project's potential to entice investors to participate through a multi-level scheme.

After attracting a large number of participants, by late 2021, Van's group abruptly "crashed" the system. The individuals deleted all related websites, fan pages, and groups, cutting off communication to appropriate investor funds, which were then converted into Vietnamese dong for personal spending.

Electronic data collected revealed that the group had appropriated a substantial volume of digital assets, including over 1,880 Bitcoin (BTC), more than 37,000 Ethereum (ETH), and nearly 2,7 million USDT. The total estimated value of these virtual currencies in 2021 was approximately 2 trillion dong.

In addition to real estate, police seized significant amounts of cash, gold, automobiles, and expensive jewelry from the fraud group. *Photo: Tu Anh*

During the dismantling of the special case, police authorities froze and temporarily suspended transactions for bank accounts and real estate linked to the suspect group, totaling over 600 billion dong. Large sums of cash, gold, automobiles, and expensive jewelry were also seized.

Da Nang City Police urged involved suspects to surrender promptly to receive leniency; they also requested victims of the DRK project to contact investigators to report their cases and cooperate in the resolution.

Ngoc Truong