The subject who operated the nude photo-editing ring to collect debt received 15 years in prison.
The defendants participated in an organized and professional manner, under the direction of Li Zhao Qiang, establishing companies for the purpose of lending at high interest rates and extorting borrowers' assets to pay employee salaries.
After 10 days of the Hanoi People's Court conducting the first-instance trial of 135 defendants in the case of "Lending high interest rates in civil transactions", "Tax evasion" and "Extortion of property" led by a group of Chinese people who charged "exorbitant" interest rates to borrowers via the App, then demanded debt and terrorized them mentally with many tricks, the trial ended on the afternoon of August 31.
Before imposing the sentence on the defendants, the Trial Panel affirmed that the defendants committed the crime mainly for personal gain, with the purpose of making money and making a lot of money. The defendants participated in an organized and professional manner, under the direction of Li Zhao Qiang, establishing companies with the purpose of lending at high interest rates and extorting the borrowers' assets to pay salaries for employees.
The telesales group invited borrowers and enticed them to borrow money at very high interest rates and with fees that forced them to pay. The defendants in the debt reminder and debt collection group used tricks ranging from calling to remind them to pay their debts, with increasing frequency, to threatening, cursing, and editing obscene images, making borrowers afraid and forcing them to pay...
According to the Trial Council, the 10 defendants in this case committed crimes under the direct direction of Li Zhao Qiang, so the most severe punishment should be applied to have an educational and deterrent effect and serve as a common lesson for similar crimes.
The jury sentenced Zhang Min (born in 1986, Chinese nationality, with the highest role in the case) to 15 years in prison for two crimes of "Extortion of property" and "Lending at high interest rates in civil transactions".
Committing the same two crimes, defendant Nguyen Quang Vu (born in 1987, in Ba Dinh district, Hanoi, assigned by Li Zhao Qiang to manage the Vietnamese market (playing the second role) was sentenced to 14 years in prison; defendant Nghiem Duc Giang (in Hanoi), the leader of the debt collection groups, was sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Other defendants, who are department heads, accountants, debt collection department staff... directly assisting Li Zhao Qiang (under the direction of defendant Nguyen Quang Vu), depending on the severity of their crimes, were released in court, or were sentenced to suspended sentences or terms of up to 7 years in prison for the crime of "Tax evasion" or the crime of "Lending at high interest rates in civil transactions".
In this case, Li Zhao Qiang was identified as the mastermind and ringleader. However, Li Zhao Qiang is not present in Vietnam, so the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency has issued a domestic wanted notice and coordinated with the international wanted notice procedure for Li Zhao Qiang. Once he is arrested, he will be prosecuted.
