Former police officer 'directed' Bitcoin robbery worth 37 billion VND

On November 23, the actions of Dung, Ho Ngoc Tai (32 years old) and 14 others were stated by the Supreme People's Procuracy in the indictment for the crime ofRobberyAccording to Clause 4, Article 168 of the Penal Code, the penalty is 18-20 years or life imprisonment.

According to the indictment, Tai and his accomplices areBitcoin investmentin Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang. This group participated in trading virtual currency with Mr. Le - a businessman in Saigon. In 2018, after a long period of profitable investment, Tai and Tran Ngoc Hoang (38 years old) sold all 1,000 Bitcoins (worth about 100 billion VND), switched to buying emerging virtual currencies such as Aureus, Ifans... but lost everything. Tai's group thought that Mr. Le's advice on the above investment method was the reason why they were "empty-handed", so they discussed how to rob this man's Bitcoin.

Some suspects in the robbery. Photo:Police provided

To do this, Tai hired private detective Mai Xuan Phot to find Le for 25 million VND. In addition, Tai also invited Trinh Tuan Anh (36 years old, also in the virtual currency business) to go and claim Le's money, promising to share 30% of the recovered Bitcoin; then police officers Nguyen Quoc Dung and Nguyen Anh Tuan (whose work unit has not been announced by the investigation agency) also joined.

Tai sent personal information, car pictures of Mr. Le and transferred 50 million VND to the group to cover the search costs. Detective Phot used many illegal high-tech devices, set up surveillance, and knew the entire schedule of Mr. Le's family.

On May 11, 2020, Tai and some friends went from Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City. This person met Phot to confirm the "prey's" movements and discuss how to capture and seize the phone with virtual currency accounts worth up to tens of billions of dong.

Nguyen Quoc Dung planned and advised on how to create a car crash; assigned tasks to each team member.

On May 12, 2020, through GPS tracking, they knew that Mr. Le's car was driving to an apartment building in District 2, so they split up to follow. When they reached Thoi Dai Bridge, Phot drove his motorbike into the front of Le's car, then argued and asked him to get out to resolve the matter. Tai, Dung, Anh Tuan... and many other accomplices pretended to be driving nearby, just waiting for the victim to get out of the car to rush over. However, Mr. Le was alert, so he reversed the car, dodged Phot, and sped away. The kidnapping failed.

The victim's phone was robbed and money was transferred. Photo:Police provided

Five days later, knowing that Le's family's car was going from Bao Loc to Ho Chi Minh City, Tai's group put on masks, hats, and jackets to attack. They followed each other in many cars on the Long Thanh - Dau Giay highway. When they reached Dau Giay town (Dong Nai province), one car overtook Le's car and blocked the way, while another car crashed into the back of the car.

Mr. Le and his brother-in-law got out of the car, and were immediately subdued by Tai's group who pulled out guns (shot marbles). The remaining people forced Mr. Le's wife and children into another car, threatening them with syringes containing "HIV blood" (fake in red ink). They forced Mr. Le to reveal the password to access his e-wallet or they would "inject HIV blood into his wife and children".

During the more than 2 hours of traveling back to Ho Chi Minh City, the group continued to beat Le, forcing him to call his brother to transfer another 1,000 Bitcoins to them. While talking, Le shouted loudly, making his brother at home suspicious and not transfer the money.

Arriving at a deserted area in District 2, the group abandoned Mr. Le’s family and their car on the side of the road, taking their phones and dash cams to destroy evidence to erase their tracks. The victim’s family freed themselves and called the police for help.

According to the appraisal results, the amount of cryptocurrency that Mr. Le was embezzled was 168 Bitcoins, converted to a total value of more than 37 billion VND, along with some other assets worth about 45 million VND.

During the investigation, the police determined that Dung was an accomplice with a supporting role, receiving more than 400 million VND; Nguyen Anh Tuan received 50 million VND.

* Victim's name has been changed.