Vietnamese police announce bust of $1.2 billion money laundering network | News about corruption

Da Nang police say the arrest is the biggest money-laundering case ever solved in the central coastal city.

Vietnamese police say they have arrested five people and busted a money-laundering ring that brought $1.2 billion in criminal cash from abroad into the country.

Between 2022 and 2024 members of the ring, which included bank employees, forged ID cards and bank stamps to set up 187 businesses, opening more than 600 corporate bank accounts, according to authorities.

The accounts were used to transfer and legalize money obtained through fraud or gambling abroad, police said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the total transactions amounted to about $1.2 billion.

The arrests – including a bank employee – were made in Da Nang, where police said it was the biggest money-laundering case ever uncovered in the central coastal city.

Police seized 122 fake seals and original copies of 40 business registration certificates.

In October, Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to life in prison on money laundering charges, although he is appealing the sentence.

The property developer was already served death penalty for fraud totaling $27 billion in a separate case.