Dozens of defendants in the 'hundred-billion-VND online gambling ring' receive sentences.

In just over a year, the online gambling ring led by Pham Huy Toan transacted over 301 billion VND, earning hundreds of millions of VND in illicit profits.

The defendants listened as the court pronounced the sentence on the afternoon of May 9th. Photo: Tan Chau

On the afternoon of May 9th, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court announced its verdict in the online gambling case involving Fun88..., led by Pham Huy Toan, born in 1977 in Hanoi, director of FAM Media Joint Stock Company.

Besides defendant Toan, who received a 4-year prison sentence for "Organizing gambling," 24 other defendants were sentenced to between 9 and 18 months in prison for "Gambling." Additionally, 3 defendants were acquitted due to the court applying a new provision of the Penal Code regarding the crime of gambling.

According to the indictment, from March 2013 to July 2014, Toan instructed 10 employees to open 58 bank accounts to act as representative accounts for Fun88, receiving and transferring over 301 billion VND in gambling and betting money.

Toan was also directly involved in negotiating and transacting with individuals organizing gambling on the Fun88 website... and several other websites.

By the time the case was exposed, Toan had illegally profited 726 million VND.

The verdict also confirmed that, in addition to the mastermind Pham Huy Toan, each of the remaining 24 defendants had gambled at least 2 million VND or more in a single betting session.

At the trial, the defendants all admitted to their crimes as charged in the indictment.

According to Tien Phong