Police in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province arrested eight people in early May and seized computers, phones, SIM cards and VND 1.3 billion in cash from an alleged cross-border money laundering, gambling and fraud network, state media reported on May 81.
The network was run through dozens of websites and more than a thousand agents, according to VnExpress. Investigators say it operated from 2025 as a linked model of gambling sites including 789Bet, Shbet, Hi88 and Jun88, which shared technical infrastructure and player data1. Nguyen Hoang Tuan, 39, is accused of leading and running the operation1.
On May 8, Ha Tinh provincial police launched criminal proceedings and detained seven named suspects pending investigation into money laundering, organizing gambling and fraudulently appropriating property1. The suspects are Tuan, 39; Huynh Cong Danh, 33; Nguyen Hoang Phuc, 27; Ngo Trong Thanh, 32; Nguyen Thanh Nam, 33; Nguyen Na Sil, 32; and Ta Cong Thi, 291.
"nhiều mũi trinh sát đột kích, bắt 8 người, thu 35 máy tính, 5 laptop, 23 điện thoại, hơn 10.000 sim, 6 thiết bị đọc sim và 1,3 tỷ đồng"
The raid in early May seized 35 desktop computers, 5 laptops, 23 phones, more than 10,000 SIM cards, 6 SIM card readers and VND 1.3 billion1.
Servers were placed in border areas of Laos, Cambodia and Thailand, then moved repeatedly to Malaysia, the Philippines and some European countries to avoid tracing, according to the report1. The system allegedly used a payment intermediary platform to connect to 31 gambling websites abroad and automate money flows1. Tuan's group increasingly used mobile top-up cards to load money into the system, the report said1. Bets were dispersed through more than a thousand first and second level agents nationwide, creating layers of intermediaries to hide the money's origin1.
The investigation began after a resident reported being defrauded of more than VND 330 million through gambling websites with servers abroad, which led police to Tuan's network1.
What it means for players
Vietnam does not permit unlicensed online gambling, and the sites named in the case are offshore operations. Players who deposited through the network's agents or top-up card channels are inside a system that police now describe as linked to fraud and money laundering. The report does not say whether individual players face investigation, and no figures on player losses beyond the initial VND 330 million complaint have been reported. The case also shows how offshore sites reach Vietnamese users through local agents and card-based deposits rather than direct bank transfers. For the legal position on land-based and online betting in the country, see Can I Gamble in Vietnam? and Gambling Laws in Asia: What Is Legal in 12 Jurisdictions.
What happens next
The case is under expanded investigation, according to VnExpress1. No trial date, additional charges or further arrests have been reported.
