Sawt Falasteen - Vietnam jails dozens in $3.8 bn online gambling and crypto case

Members of the ring, run by four Vietnamese siblings, were charged with organising and participating in online gambling between early 2020 and late 2021 when they were busted by police, the Ho Chi Minh City's Law newspaper reported.

At the end of a two-day trial in Ho Chi Minh City late Wednesday, the four were jailed for between eight and 13 years, it said.

Thirty-nine other defendants were given sentences from three years, suspended, to more than 10 years in jail.

Vietnamese police were also seeking the arrest of an Indian man, believed to be the ring's mastermind, according to the report, which cited the court verdict.

The criminal group used millions of dollars in illicit profits to buy real estate and luxury cars in Vietnam as well as launder cash abroad.

Police have opened a separate money laundering investigation, the report said.

The ring had designed websites for multilayer investments using cryptocurrency, which is illegal in Vietnam.

Users were able to open accounts, convert Vietnamese dong into digital tokens, such as USDT and Ethereum, and transfer them into e-wallets for use in online gambling.

At its peak, the network had 20,000 users with around 25 million accounts.

Several users earned commission by luring other punters on Telegram and other social media platforms to join the gambling network.

Vietnam's internet service providers have blocked Telegram since June after authorities warned that there were "signs of law violation" on the messaging app.

Up to 68 percent of 9,600 channels used by Vietnamese on Telegram contain "poisonous and bad information", the government said.

State media reported in February that nearly 60 people working in a crypto fraud ring that stole millions of dollars from Vietnamese nationals were arrested in Cambodia and Vietnam.

The ring allegedly enticed victims to invest in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin through a mobile app and then pocketed their money.

C.Hamad--SF-PST