Vietnam scored a major victory against illegal gambling as authorities cracked down on a major illegal sports betting ring. This is shortly after a busting of a huge money laundering operation. Both generated millions of dollars in profit and had a substantial presence in the region.
Authorities in Dong Nai cracked down on an illegal sports betting operation that has been active since 2023, according to the reports. Authorities understood that the operation generated some VND 1.2 trillion or roughly $47.8 million in revenue.
The police arrested over a dozen people during the raid. This includes notorious mobster Tran Trung Hieu, who authorities believe is the mastermind behind the operation. Aside from this, the authorities seized some VND 1.1 billion or $44k in cash.
Law enforcers understood that the group had operated an international betting operation focused on soccer. The network was very well organized and leveraged cutting-edge technology to keep its operation concealed from the authorities.
Vietnam has nevertheless remained plagued by illicit operations while Vietnam has been working hard to prevent gambling crime and illegal gambling. A few days before the arrest of Tran Trung Hieu, the Da Nang police busted another illegal operation. This leveraged hundreds of fraudulent businesses and bank accounts to launder significant sums of money.
The suspects used fake IDs. They also doctored documents and connections to banking insiders to launder offshore gambling proceeds. Authorities believe that the operation has laundered some VND 30 trillion or an estimate of $1.2 trillion since 2022.
Vietnam deconstructed a separate gambling operation in October. This time is it located in Ben Tre province. Authorities grabbed $72.1 million in cash, gambling machines, expensive jewelry and even firearms. Additionally, the police arrested a dozen suspects.
The country’s restrictive gambling laws have let the black market to flourish. This gives rise to a diversity of schemes, some small, some big. Recently, a smaller operation led to the death of an indebted gambler who was murdered and tossed into a river.
