Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, 46, director of Ngoc Viet Education Company, was indicted and detained by the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency on 30/12. She faces charges of fraud and appropriation of property. Ha also serves as the legal representative for Ngoc Viet Company, which operates in creative arts and entertainment.

Police reported that around 6/2025, Ngoc Viet Company began preparations for the "Ve Day Bon Canh Chim Troi" art performance. The show was scheduled for 20h on 28/12 at the Indoor Athletics Palace, Tran Huu Duc Street, Tu Liem Ward. This music event garnered significant interest from audiences both domestically and internationally.

The program was to feature compositions by late musicians Van Cao, Trinh Cong Son, Pham Duy, and musician Tran Tien, along with performances by several famous singers and artists. Ngoc Viet Company directly contracted all participants. The company began selling tickets on 11/10 through various channels, including direct sales, affiliated companies, and collaborators. Ticket prices ranged from 600,000 VND to 7,000,000 VND.

During interrogation, Ha remained calm, stating the show's production was a passion project for her and the entire Ngoc Viet Company team. She and her colleagues dedicated six months of effort to prepare for the 28/12 event. However, she identified a significant error in her process: failing to meet payment deadlines with the music director. "I did not fulfill the agreement to pay 50% before the show and 50% after the show. This payment issue was a major mistake", Ha admitted.

Music director Vu Quang Trung stated that the "Ve Day Bon Canh Chim Troi" show was postponed due to copyright disputes over songs, as organizers had not paid royalties. The organizers violated their contract by not adequately compensating the team. After multiple discussions failed to reach an agreement, the musicians and band decided not to participate, citing insufficient preparation time to ensure performance quality.

Police served legal documents to director Nguyen Thi Thu Ha. *Photo: Police provided*

Despite knowing the performance was not ready, Ha is accused of knowingly proceeding with ticket sales and collecting money from the audience. On the day of the event, Ha instructed staff to open the Indoor Athletics Palace for attendees, asking them to wait until 20h30 before announcing the show's cancellation. This incident caused widespread anger, leading many to demand ticket refunds and file reports with the police. Ticket purchasers paid but did not see the advertised show.

From a legal perspective, lawyer Le Hong Hien, director of Le Hong Hien & Associates law firm, explained that determining guilt for fraud and appropriation of property requires evidence of two actions: "deception" and "appropriation". Deception involves intentionally presenting false information to make others believe it is true. This can manifest through spoken words, documents, or fake information, ultimately serving to appropriate money or assets from victims.

"The crime of fraud and appropriation of property is considered complete once the act of appropriation has occurred. Furthermore, it only constitutes fraud if the appropriated assets are valued at 2,000,000 VND or more, or less than 2,000,000 VND but involve circumstances such as previous administrative penalties or causing adverse effects on public order and safety", lawyer Hien explained. According to the lawyer, Ha's crime was complete once the act of appropriation occurred. Offenders can face penalties ranging from non-custodial rehabilitation for up to three years or imprisonment from six months to three years, up to a maximum of 20 years or life imprisonment.

Ngoc Viet Education Company Limited has 10 years of experience in organizing entertainment and art events, collaborating with many famous artists for concerts and live shows.