Apax Leaders English school boss Nguyen Ngoc Thuy sold non-existent shares to investors: police

Nguyen Ngoc Thuy, board chairman of Egroup, at a police station. Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Public Security

The Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday announced for for the second time that they were seeking victims who had been defrauded by Thuy, chairman and CEO of education firm Egroup.

Thuy, 42, was arrested five months ago for alleged fraudulent appropriation of assets, along with Dang Van Hien, head of shareholders relations at Egame, a company part of Egroup’s ecosystem.

During their investigation the police have found that Thuy and his accomplices, between 2015 and 2023, used Egame to raise money by selling non-existent shares of Egroup.

Thuy allowed investors to pay for the shares either by cash or properties. He even used the shares as collaterals for loans.

In a separate case, Ho Chi Minh City last year began an investigation on Thuy and Apax Leaders schools after hundreds of parents accused them of stealing from them a total of VND6 billion (US$241,700) in tuition fee.

Apax Leaders received its operation permits in 2016. On its website it claims to have 120 centers nationwide at some points with 120,000 students.