Four Vietnamese brothers arrested for running a gambling ring under the guise of crypto investments

Four Vietnamese brothers have been arrested by authorities for running a gambling ring under the guise of cryptocurrency investments. According to authorities, the suspects were running a gambling ring worth about $3.8 billion, allowing users to bet with several digital assets, including USDT, ETH, and Naga tokens.

Aside from providing a platform for users to bet, the group also allowed them to earn commissions by inviting new participants. The Vietnamese police have also said that they are expanding their investigations into the gambling ring led by 32-year-old Huynh Long Nhu, alongside his brothers Huynh Long Tu and Huynh Long Bach.

The authorities mentioned that at the request of the prosecutors in charge of the case, they are also investigating their sister Huynh Thi Ha Tay. According to the Vietnamese police, they have recommended a charge of organizing gambling and gambling for Nhu, Tu, Tay, and about nine other defendants.

Vietnamese police want brothers to face gambling charges

According to the Vietnamese police, Bach and 20 others should face only charges of organizing gambling, while 10 other members of the ring would be charged for gambling. Authorities mentioned that the brain behind the whole operation, Indian national 32-year-old Bhatia Mohit, is currently at large, with the police also in coordinated efforts to apprehend other members of the ring.

The police mentioned that the gambling ring ran a full-scale operation, with the network running from early 2020 before their operation was dismantled at the end of 2021. According to investigators, Nhu and Bach were in charge of a website that had 25,000 registered accounts, with about $3.8 billion in bets facilitated.

Authorities mentioned that the siblings hired foreign IT experts to help develop and maintain the websites. The gambling ring used Swiftonline.live and Nagaclubs.com websites, which authorities said were linked to the international betting website Evolution.com.

The group also rented online card game portals to support its gambling operations. Nhu was in charge of Swift online.live, while Bach controlled Naga clubs.com, which alone had more than 5,000 registered accounts.

Authorities bust fake multi-level marketing investment scheme

According to the police, the group lured players to their website by promoting it as a financial investment in cryptocurrencies, running a multi-level marketing model. The website, under this model, promised users daily profits of about 1% to 1.5%. The group urged users to register to insure their bets, which would guarantee them a reward if they lost. In addition, players were also rewarded with commissions if they recruited players into the investment scheme.

To carry out activities on the platform, users were asked to create an account on Switfonline.live website and purchase USDT using Vietnamese currency from exchanges like Binance and Remitano or from other players. The digital assets were then moved to the platform’s wallet, where users could gamble. The minimum deposit on the platform was $20, which was often paid in USDT.

The platform allowed users to withdraw their winnings only if they hit the $20 threshold. Users could withdraw through Remitano or Binance or sell their winnings to another platform member to be converted to cash. The modus operandi was the same for other platforms run by the group, with the USDT deposits made on Nagaclubs.com converted to Naga tokens before being used on the platform.

Nagaclubs.com ran its special multi-level commission structure, ranking players on the platform from VIP 1 to VIP 10, basing these ranks on the number of recruits a user brings to the platform or how much they used to gamble. The system automatically distributes rewards according to the ranks of the users’ accounts. Members also created telegram groups to monitor gambling activities and schedule bets.

According to investigations, the gambling ring made a lot of profit from the venture, with reports claiming that Nhu and his accomplices saw gains of about $2.2 million from their website, while Bach and his accomplices also saw gains of about $2.5 million from their website. The illicit funds were used to purchase several luxury items, including cars, real estate, and land. The gang members also sent some of the funds abroad, raising concerns about money laundering. Authorities are pursuing legal actions against the members apprehended while still tracking down other fugitives.

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