Opening fake 'banks' to defraud depositors.

Ha used a rented house to set up a "phantom" branch of a foreign bank and then received savings deposits from the public.

On October 17th, the Quang Ninh Provincial Police announced that they have initiated a criminal case for fraud and appropriation of property, and have temporarily detained Nguyen Manh Ha (33 years old, residing in Cao Thang ward, Ha Long city).

According to the investigation, Ha used a rented house in Cao Thang ward to set up a fake transaction office impersonating a foreign bank. From October 1st to the afternoon of October 12th, Ha received nearly 160 million VND in deposits from four people.

The middle house was rented by Ha to open a fake bank branch. Photo: Minh Cuong

Ms. Tran Thi Thanh stated that because she lived nearby, she deposited 100 million VND on October 3rd for a period of 3 months, with an interest rate of 6% per year. Another person also deposited 10 million VND for a one-month period, with an interest rate of 5.3% per year. All four victims were related to each other.

"There are two gold rings in the display case here. Ha said that if anyone deposits one billion dong, they will receive a ring," Ms. Thanh said, adding that Ha is the only one working in the office. When questioned about this, he said that the office had just been established and they were hiring more staff.

Those who deposited their savings were given a hard blue plastic card with erasable writing on it by Ha. Photo: Minh Cuong

The landlord said the house was rented by Ha's relatives to run a spa and sell votive offerings for 2.5 million VND per month. Before opening, Ha had added an advertising sign for the bank.

According to VNE