Phu Tho court opens trial for major online gambling ring
The Phu Tho provincial People’s Court on November 12 brought to trial two former senior officers of the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) and 90 accomplices for their alleged involvement in a major online gambling ring.
Nguyen Thanh Hoa (standing, centre), former Director of the MoPS’s Hi-tech Crime Police Department, is brout to the trial on November 12 (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Phu Tho provincial People’sCourt on November 12 brought to trial two former senior officers of theMinistry of Public Security (MoPS) and 90 accomplices for their alleged involvementin a major online gambling ring.
The 92 defendants face the charges of “using theinternet to appropriate assets”, “organising gambling”, “gambling”, “illegallytrading invoices”, “laundering money”, and “abusing positions and power whileperforming duties”.
They include former Director General of theMoPS’s Police General Department Phan Van Vinh and former Director of theMoPS’s Hi-tech Crime Police Department Nguyen Thanh Hoa.
Both are prosecuted for “abusing positions andpower while performing duties”, an offence that has the maximum penalty of 15years in prison.
The court said this is a case with a lot ofcomplexities and a record number of defendants in Phu Tho. The first-instancetrial is scheduled to last for 15 days and open for the media.
At this trial, 73 other people with relevantinterests and obligations and 14 witnesses will also be summoned.
The 92 defendants are accused of being involvedin the ring that organised online gambling through the card game Rikvip/Tip.club,led by Phan Sao Nam (former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the VTCOnline Telecommunications Co. – VTC Online) and Nguyen Van Duong (formerChairman of the Members Council of the Hi-tech Security Development andInvestment Co. – CNC).
According to the indictment of the Phu Thoprovincial People’s Procuracy, Duong and accomplices used high technology tocommit the crimes, happening in Phu Tho and some other provinces and cities,with the support of Phan Van Vinh and Nguyen Thanh Hoa, who held positions andpower in their agencies and were tasked with hi-tech crime prevention andcombat.
During the 28 months of operating software andtechnological solutions with such card games as Rikvip/Tip.club, 23Zdo andZon/Pen, the games’ operators connected with many services providing companiesto set up a system of 25 tier-1 outlets and 5,877 tier-2 outlets to convertgame scores into real money and vice versa.
They attracted more than 42.95 million gamblingaccounts and earned nearly 10 trillion VND (428.3 million USD) from the moneygamblers sent to the illegal gambling organising service.-VNA
The public security investigation agency, Phu Tho province's public security department, has issued a decision on starting legal proceedings against and an arrest warrant for a four-month detention of Nguyen Thanh Hoa, former Director of the Hi-tech Crime Police Department, on the charge of organising gambling.
The Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) has officially announced a crackdown on “using the internet to appropriate assets, organise gambling, gamble, illegally trade invoices and launder money in Phu Tho province and some other provinces and cities.”
Phan Van Vinh, former Lieutenant General and former Director General of the Police General Department under the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS), has been taken into custody for the charge of “abusing position and power while performing duties” relating to a major online gambling ring.
The People’s Procuracy of the northern province of Phu Tho on August 31 completed the indictment for Phan Van Vinh, former Lieutenant General and former Director General of the Police General Department under the Ministry of Public Security, and Nguyen Thanh Hoa – former Major General and former Director of the ministry’s Hi-tech Crimes Department.
The People’s Court of the northern province of Phu Tho announced on October 29 that it would be holding the first instance trial on November 12 for 92 people accused of involvement in a major online gambling ring.
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Nguyen Thanh Hoa (standing, centre), former Director of the MoPS’s Hi-tech Crime Police Department, is brout to the trial on November 12 (Photo: VNA) 
