Vietnam police bust $78.5M cross-border money-laundering ring

Vietnamese authorities announced on Monday the arrest of 21 individuals suspected of participating in a large-scale money-laundering operation that funneled approximately $78.5 million in illicit funds between Vietnam and Cambodia.

According to police in Dong Nai Province, the suspects—who are all Vietnamese and originate from southern Dong Nai and several northern provinces—were apprehended in mid-February. Investigators identified a female ringleader at the center of the operation, which had been in operation since July 2024.

The group was accused of transferring vast sums of money—equivalent to VND2 trillion ($78.5 million)—to finance gambling and online fraud for a transnational criminal organization based in Cambodia. Authorities reported that the gang had established around 30 shell companies and opened 150 business bank accounts to facilitate the transfer and laundering of illicit funds.



This case marks the latest in a series of major financial crime crackdowns in Vietnam. In January, law enforcement officials dismantled another cross-border money-laundering syndicate valued at $1.2 billion, resulting in five arrests.

Additionally, in October, Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was sentenced to life in prison for money laundering. She had previously been handed the death penalty for her role in a staggering $27 billion fraud scheme, though she is currently appealing the verdict.