​​Police seize documents at ‘Vietnam’s Alibaba’ NextTech amid crypto fraud complaints

The police confirmed that they are "working" with Binh, without providing further details.

Officers first showed up late Monday at the office of NextTech in Hanoi’s Vinh Tuy Ward, of which Binh is the chairman. They continued to stay there Tuesday before moving away boxes of documents on a truck.

Binh, 44, is a prominent entrepreneur in the technology sector. He has been referred to as a "tech shark," and NextTech Group has been called "Vietnam’s Alibaba."

Deputy Director of Hanoi Police Nguyen Duc Long on Monday said that police had received complaints about the blockchain cryptocurrency project AntEx linked to Binh.

He confirmed that a resident of Ninh Binh Province had filed a complaint after losing approximately $2,000 for investing in AntEx.

The AntEx digital currency project was launched in September 2021, drawing attention when Binh announced an investment of $2.5 million through the a blockchain fund.

At that time, Binh was described as a "strategic advisor" on the project’s website.

Boxes of documents are transported from the office of NextTech, a company of Shark Tank Vietnam investor Nguyen Hoa Binh. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

However, in the past month, engineers from the AntEx project have publicly accused Binh on social media of directing liquidity withdrawals that caused the project to collapse, leading to investor losses.

Binh, on the other hand, has insisted in his posts that he is a victim, claiming he not only lost $2.5 million but also suffered reputational damage.

When first launched, AntEx was described as a comprehensive decentralized finance ecosystem that included a stablecoin VNDT pegged to the Vietnamese dong.

However, shortly after listing on exchanges, the token plummeted 99% in value. AntEx then became mostly inactive.

By March 2023, it announced a rebranding as Rabbit. Holders of AntEx tokens were allowed to convert their tokens into Rabbit tokens at a rate of 1,000 AntEx to 1 Rabbit.

This move was seen in the cryptocurrency industry as an attempt to erase AntEx's steep price decline history.

However, Rabbit also rapidly lost most of its value, with conversion rates nearing zero.