Two former Vietnamese police officers and 14 others have been arrested and brought to trial for stealing roughly $1.5 million in bitcoins (BTC) from a businessman in Vietnam.
16 Individuals Face Robbery Charges
According to a report by a local media outlet, the case, which is expected to be heard in a few days, involves the two former officers, Nguyen Quoc Dung and Nguyen Anh Tuan, as well as Ho Ngoc Tai, Tran Ngoc Hoang, and 12 other accomplices, who have been brought to trial on charges of robbery.
Per the investigations, after investing in Bitcoin in 2018, Tai and Hoang became acquainted with a businessman named Le Duc Nguyen. They then sought advice from the businessman and decided to sell all of their BTC holdings worth $4.26 million to invest in other unnamed cryptocurrencies. However, they later lost the money and thought Nguyen had misled them.
After feeling deceived, Tai discussed with his friend Hoang and others about the possibility of stealing Nguyen’s Bitcoin. As part of his plan, Tai hired a private detective and paid more than $1,000 to locate the businessman’s residence situated in a building in District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City and installed a GPS tracker on his car for monitoring purposes.
Tai then enlisted the help of several individuals, including the two former police officers, Dung and Tuan, offering them a 30% stake of the stolen digital asset.
The Robbery
On May 17, 2020, while Nguyen and his wife were on their way from Lam Dong province to Ho Chi Minh City, Tai, and his partners intercepted them on the highway and caused a car accident. The group brandished firearms loaded with rubber bullets at them and even threatened to inject them with a syringe supposedly filled with fake “HIV” fluids.
Hoang then seized Nguyen’s phone and compelled him to provide the password required to unlock the phone and gain entry to the e-wallet housing the bitcoin worth $1.5 million. In addition to that, the accomplice also stole dashcams and three phones from the victims.
The case is scheduled to be heard in a few days. If convicted, all 16 defendants could face 18 to 20 years imprisonment. However, it is important to note that the sentencing of offenders can also be determined by the presiding judge.
