Real estate tycoon arrested
Lam Thi Thu Tra, 47 years old, a real estate tycoon in Vung Tau, was arrested on charges of lending billions of dong at high interest to the owner of the "gold-plated" villa, Le Thai Thien.
On the evening of April 7, Ms. Tra and her sister-in-law Dang Thi Tuyet Lan, 55 years old, both living in Vung Tau City, were temporarily detained by Phu My Town Police to investigate their behavior.Usury in civil transactions.
Mrs. Tra is the wife of actor Kinh Quoc, known as a wealthy real estate businessman in Vung Tau city.
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| Ms. Lam Thi Thu Tra when she was arrested. Photo:Quang Binh |
The search of the two suspects’ residence on Binh Gia Street (Nguyen An Ninh Ward, Vung Tau City) was not completed until midnight. The police seized many papers and documents.
According to the investigation agency, the arrest of these two suspects is part of the process of expanding the investigation of the case.Loan sharkingandMoney launderingcarried out by father and son Le Thai Thien (55 years old) and Le Thai Phong (21 years old), after 4 months of investigation.
Documents show that Ms. Tra and Lan lent Thien and his father billions of dong with interest of 2,000-3,000 dong per million dong per day, illegally profiting more than 106 million dong.
Thien and his father lent money to others at an interest rate of 0.3-0.4% per day, with interest calculated every 10 days. If the borrower did not pay, he would add the interest to the principal and force the borrower to sign a new debt paper. When unable to pay, many people were forced by Thien and his father to forfeit their land to pay off their debt.
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| Ms. Dang Thi Tuyet Lan at her home on Binh Gia Street, Vung Tau City. Photo:Quang Binh |
For example, Mr. Luu Ngoc Tu (42 years old, former Chairman of the Phu My Town Young Entrepreneurs Association) borrowed a total of 32.5 billion VND from Thien and his son. By June, Mr. Tu had paid nearly 28 billion VND in cash and transferred the ownership of 4 plots of land (worth more than 110 billion VND) to Mr. Thien, but was still charged nearly 20 billion VND in interest.
Ba Ria - Vung Tau Provincial Police determined that the activitiesLoan sharkingLe Thai Thien's sophisticated and largest scale ever in the area.
Le Thai Thien has attracted attention in recent years when he built two yellow villas covering an area of 3,000 m2.2, European-style facade of Highway 51. Inside, many motifs are "gilded", many wooden items, expensive furniture.