Nguyễn Hòa Bình, popularly known as Shark Bình, has been indicted by the Hanoi People's Procuracy for his involvement in a money laundering scheme amounting to 319 billion VND. This case is connected to Phó Đức Nam, also known as Mr. Pips, who is accused of defrauding victims of approximately 1.568 trillion VND through 920 fraudulent transactions.

Shark Bình, who serves as the Chairman of the NextTech Group, faces serious charges related to money laundering. Mr. Pips is under investigation for asset embezzlement and money laundering, while Lê Khắc Ngọ, known as Mr. Hunter, and his wife, Ngô Thị Thêu, have also been charged with asset embezzlement. In total, 188 individuals are implicated in this case, facing various charges including fraud and money laundering.

According to the indictment, during the fraudulent operations, Mr. Pips collaborated with the financial department to open accounts with intermediary payment companies, including the one led by Shark Bình. In 2019, Mr. Pips’ GKFX trading platform registered to use the payment service, which charged transaction fees of 2.5% for deposits and 1% for withdrawals. Despite attempts to negotiate lower fees, Mr. Pips was unsuccessful.

Throughout the fraudulent activities, Mr. Pips established several new forex trading platforms, including DK Trade, ASX, ACX, Sea Investing, Honor, and ScopeMarkets, while informing the payment company about these developments. Customers wishing to open accounts had to download an app or visit a website, and from June 2020 to September 2022, 232 victims transferred nearly 319 billion VND into these accounts.

The funds were then funneled through various bank accounts under the payment company, before being transferred to Mr. Pips’ forex platforms. Shark Bình was aware of the illegal activities but continued to allow operations to profit from transaction fees. To conceal the truth, he instructed his staff to provide false data to law enforcement.

Shark Bình, who has been dubbed a “technology shark,” is currently under detention for this case and is also being investigated for three other charges related to fraud, serious accounting violations, and tax evasion. The fraud scheme orchestrated by Mr. Pips began in 2018 and involved establishing websites for forex and international securities trading, which were, in fact, fraudulent operations.

In an effort to legitimize the illicit funds, Mr. Pips allegedly purchased 32 properties, spent 141 billion VND on gold, and converted over 1.7 million USD, along with more than 1 million Singapore dollars. Lê Khắc Ngọ was responsible for managing 20 offices to lure victims into investing, leading to his involvement in 287 fraudulent cases, resulting in the embezzlement of over 344 billion VND.