Brian Jeffrey
Approximately 4,000 people have been scammed by Verbo Capital, a fraudulent foreign exchange trading platform, leading to losses of around 300 billion VND (nearly 12 million USD). Vietnamese police have recently shut down this platform.
The Ministry of Public Security’s Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department, along with the Bac Ninh Provincial Police, effectively dismantled the criminal organization behind Verbo Capital, officially closing it down.
In connection with this case, authorities have prosecuted 10 individuals for defraudation.
The Ministry of Public Security revealed that a group of Chinese operatives, along with several Vietnamese accomplices, orchestrated the scheme through the Verbo Capital forex platform, tricking and stealing from victims nationwide.
Notable suspects include Nguyen Van Chung (24, An Phu, An Giang Province) and Pham Tran Phuong Anh (24, Binh Chanh District, Ho Chi Minh City).
The culprits created a deceptive forex trading platform named Verbo Capital and implemented a closed-loop pyramid scheme. They set up a multi-level marketing framework, using social media like Facebook, Zalo, and Telegram to recruit individuals and solicit investments.
Once victims joined the platform, they were added to exclusive groups, where the scammers—posing as financial advisors—would guide them on trading decisions and assist with account registration.
Participants were taught how to deposit funds and execute trades. Behind the scenes, however, the criminals manipulated the trading process, causing investors to incur losses as they altered the execution of orders and adjusted trading spreads.
When victims sought to withdraw their money, the criminals stalled the process, often convincing them to keep trading, which led to total account depletion. Stolen funds were then redistributed among the scammers based on their rank in the organization.
Since September 2024, the platform has facilitated around 5,700 transactions involving these 4,000 victims, accumulating losses of about 300 billion VND.
To effectively carry out the crackdown, police deployed five task forces across various provinces and cities, arresting suspects simultaneously. Authorities confiscated 26 computers, 1 iPad, 1 printer, 32 mobile phones, 1 car, and froze around 8.5 billion VND (approximately 340,000 USD) in linked bank accounts.
Investigations are still ongoing, as law enforcement continues to pursue additional individuals connected to the case.
