Police seize $205M from TikToker Mr Pips amid fraud investigation

Nam and 30 other individuals had been arrested between Oct. 25 and Dec. 10, most of them for fraudulent appropriation of assets and money laundering.

The police said that in 2021, Nam and his accomplice Le Khac Ngo, who is currently at large, partnered with a Turkish national to operate a fraudulent trading scheme.

The team set up a large company with 44 offices in Ho Chi Minh City, along with many offices in Hanoi and other localities, to operate stock brokerage and financial services without licenses.

Gold confiscated during an investigation against Pho Duc Nam and his accomplices for alleged fraud. Photo courtesy of the police

Employing a workforce of around 1,000 staff working long hours from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, the scheme used five English-language websites posing as credible international trading platforms.

These sites were linked to bank accounts owned by the group.

A recruitment and marketing website was also set up to bolster their credibility.

Employees, acting under Nam’s instructions, persuaded customers to make small trades in the beginning for profits.

They then gradually convinced the victims to put larger sums into the platform, eventually losing a large amount.

The losers were then introduced to a new platform which is guaranteed to help them recoup the losses, only to fall prey to further fraud.

So far 2,660 victims have been identified across the country.

The police have confiscated VND5.2 trillion worth of assets from the alleged criminals, including 890 gold bars, 246 kilograms of gold, 31 luxury cars and 59 luxury watches. They also froze 125 properties.

Nam gained fame on TikTok and Facebook for teaching investment strategies, claiming 10 years of experience in gold and international stock markets.

On Telegram, he manages a group with 20,000 members interested in trading and sells online investment courses.