CaliToday (06/8/2025): The Ho Chi Minh City Police have finalized their investigation and recommended that the People's Procuracy prosecute Do Viet Dai (born 1971, age 54, owner of Duc Long gold shop), Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (born 1977, age 48, his common-law wife), and their accomplices on two serious charges: "Money Laundering" and "Illegal Cross-Border Currency Transportation."
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| Police search the Duc Long gold shop, April 2024. Photo: Provided by the Police |
According to the investigation findings announced on August 1st, the network operated by Dai and Ngan trafficked an enormous sum of money, estimated at over 100 million USD (approximately 2.57 trillion VND), across the Vietnam-Cambodia border using highly sophisticated methods.
Systematic Criminal Activity and Dangerous Recidivism
Notably, this is not Do Viet Dai's first offense. In 2022, Dai was fined 1 billion VND by the former Quang Nam Provincial People's Court for the same crime of "Illegal Cross-Border Currency Transportation." However, after paying the fine, Dai returned to Ho Chi Minh City and proceeded to organize an even larger criminal network.
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| Do Viet Dai and Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan at the time of their arrest. Photo: Provided by the Police. |
Details from the 2018 case that led to that conviction reveal that Dai, as the owner of Duc Long gold shop, agreed to transfer money to Cambodia for a client named Ho Thi Anh Thu, with the funds intended for a person named Serey With Daris. From August to December 2018, Dai successfully transported a total of 4.257 billion VND.
Dai's modus operandi at the time was:
- Fee Agreement: Dai charged a fee of 0.25% on the total amount transferred.
- Collaboration with Foreign Partners: He coordinated with a gold shop owner in Cambodia to execute the hand-off.
- Profit Sharing: From the 0.25% fee, Dai kept 0.05%, while the Cambodian gold shop owner received 0.2%.
The Role of the "Common-Law Wife" in the New Case
In the recently dismantled 2024 operation, Do Viet Dai acted as the mastermind, directing from behind the scenes without directly handling transactions. All money transfer activities were carried out by his common-law wife, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
When a client needed to transfer money, Dai would make the introduction and assign the task to Ngan. Specifically, the couple executed the following deals:
- Transfer of $150,000 to China: This transaction was for a client named Tran Huy Thong (born 1963, Director of T.M Company). Dai and Ngan collected a service fee of $900.
- Transfer of $16,000 to Cambodia: This was carried out for a client named Nguyen Van Tam (born 1991).
During the investigation, Do Viet Dai admitted to his role in arranging these deals with clients and masterminding the illegal currency transfers.
