Authorities in Vietnam have apprehended two Nigerian nationals and five other individuals in connection with an alleged transnational fraud operation estimated at $160 million (approximately VND4.15 trillion).
The suspects were accused of masterminding a vast online scam involving over 300 shell companies.
The alleged scheme, which reportedly exploited email spoofing and fake business identities, was said to be orchestrated with the help of a Vietnamese-led network.
According to a report by VnExpress News on Sunday, citing official police documents, the investigation revealed that the bulk of the fraudulent financial transactions were traced to Nigerian-linked bank accounts.
A report submitted last Friday by the Ho Chi Minh City police to prosecutors detailed how the group gained unauthorized access to corporate email systems, particularly during contract negotiations, and used these breaches to deceive business partners.
“In Vietnam, Minh’s group established nearly 300 shell companies with foreign-sounding names, closely resembling those of their victims’ partners,” the report read.
The investigation found that the fraudsters created fake email addresses that closely mimicked legitimate ones, often changing just a single character to trick victims into redirecting payments to fraudulent accounts.
“The report quoted police officials alleging that the shell companies set up dual-currency accounts—one for foreign currencies and another for Vietnamese dong—to accept incoming payments.
The similarity in company names and email addresses led numerous foreign partners to mistakenly transfer funds to the accounts provided by the criminals, resulting in misappropriation,” the report added.
Authorities highlighted a specific incident involving Ukrainian firm December One Rnd Ltd, which had a verified business relationship with South Korea’s Sungsan Electronics & Communications. The fraudsters reportedly impersonated Sungsan’s official communication channels to redirect payment instructions.
“On Dec. 6, 2023, the Ukrainian company received emails from sungsan@rfzOne.com (‘O’ capitalised) and sungsan@rfzones.com (with an extra ‘s’), instructing them to change the receiving bank account, accompanied by altered contracts, invoices, and a scanned confirmation from Vietnam’s state-owned lender Vietinbank.
On March 8, 2024, December One Rnd Ltd transferred US$314,850 to the provided account and informed their partner of the payment.
The partner never received the funds, as the account and email addresses were fraudulent,” the report added.
The report added that all attempts by the Ukrainian Embassy to halt the fraudulent transaction by contacting Vietinbank on March 21, 2024, were unsuccessful, as the funds had already been withdrawn from the account.
Investigators revealed that the withdrawn funds were handled by Vietnamese associates posing as company officials. The money was quickly converted to local currency, split across various bank accounts, and then physically delivered to the fraud ring leaders.
