Former Facebook Vietnam exec’s startup sued for non-payment of $275,000 debt

The amount owed by Arevo company to its HCMC-based supplier Arico consists of the principal, penalties and late payment interest.

Arevo is also required to pay VND500 million in legal fees to Arico.

Arico successfully filed a lawsuit against the startup at the Vietnam International Arbitration Center.

It then asked the HCMC Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement to implement the ruling, and the agency promptly slapped a ban on Nguyen Minh Tho, the legal representative of Arevo, from leaving the country until the debt is paid.

Arevo did not respond to VnExpress’s request for comment.

Trang, who used to be the company’s chairwoman, told VnExpress that "Arevo has gone bankrupt and she cannot not represent it in making a comment" as she no longer manages it.

The company, which owns the Superstrata brand, used to make 3D-printed bicycles from carbon fiber.

It raised $7.1 million in crowd funding and $25 million from international investors in 2020.

Its factory in HCMC’s Saigon Hi-Tech Park was licensed in January 2021, but in 2023 the park said the plant was closed.

Trang said in a podcast this month that Arevo was a "major failure" for her family.

Due to difficulties in transportation and operation during Covid-19, the company was unable to find an assembler for its printed products, she said.

The company had completed 96% of its orders by the time it went bankrupt, but still faced criticism for not fulfilling all orders, she added.