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On May 10, the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam commenced a trial involving 16 suspects accused of kidnapping and stealing cryptocurrency.
The case revolves around Ho Ngoc Tai, Tran Ngoc Hoang, and their accomplices, who allegedly stole approximately 35 billion VND (around $1.5 million) in crypto from Le Duc Nguyen.
Tai enlisted the help of others to locate Nguyen and devised a plan for a crypto robbery in May 2020. Two former police officers were among the gang members. They utilized GPS trackers to monitor Nguyen's movements, and on the night of the robbery, one member intentionally crashed his motorbike into Nguyen's vehicle. When Nguyen stepped out to inspect the situation, the rest of the group abducted him at gunpoint, forcing him into a van.
The gang then coerced Nguyen into contacting his brother and requesting a transfer of the original 1,000 Bitcoins to Tai. However, upon discovering that Nguyen's brother didn't possess the cryptocurrency, Tai seized Nguyen's phone and transferred approximately 35 billion VND worth of crypto to himself. Subsequently, the group abandoned Nguyen in the city of Thu Duc.
In a separate incident last month in India's National Capital Region of Noida, three individuals, including a married couple, were arrested for an attempted crypto robbery. Allegedly, they staged a robbery at their own residence, attempting to gather information about a friend's multimillion-dollar cryptocurrency investment portfolio.
Vietnam currently hosts 200 active blockchain initiatives, with gaming and metaverse projects accounting for 28.8% of the total. Notably, the popular fantasy game Axie Infinity is headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City.