CaliToday (04/10/2025): The glamorous facade of one of Vietnam's most prominent social media business figures has crumbled after the Ministry of Public Security announced the prosecution and pre-trial detention of Hoang Thi Huong, popularly known as Hoang Huong, for her alleged role in a sophisticated accounting fraud scheme causing "serious consequences."
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| Businesswoman Hoang Huong builds the image of a millionaire, powerful and generous female tycoon. |
The arrest marks a dramatic turn for the businesswoman, who cultivated an image of immense success and flaunted a lavish lifestyle online to millions of followers. The investigation, a joint effort by the Environmental Police Department and the Police Investigation Agency, has uncovered a sprawling network of businesses allegedly designed to conceal revenue and evade taxes on a massive scale.
A Web of Deception: The "Hoang Huong Ecosystem"
At the heart of the allegations is what investigators have termed the "Hoang Huong ecosystem"—a complex web of 18 companies, 25 business households, and 44 individuals registered as business owners. Authorities claim that while Hoang Huong, 38, was the ultimate architect and operator of this entire network, the convoluted structure was intentionally created to obfuscate her control and diffuse legal responsibility.
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| Businesswoman Hoang Huong builds the image of a millionaire, powerful and generous female tycoon. |
This network was primarily used to sell a wide range of dietary supplements, health-protection products, and other consumer goods. Investigators allege that to systematically evade taxes, Huong directed her staff to attribute sales revenue not to the main companies, but to the various individual business households within the ecosystem.
Initial findings from the investigation are staggering. From January 2021 to June 2025, Hoang Huong is accused of intentionally keeping nearly VND 1,800 billion (approx. $72 million USD) in revenue off the official accounting books. Furthermore, the scheme allegedly involved the incorrect declaration of Value-Added Tax (VAT) on revenue amounting to nearly VND 2,100 billion (approx. $84 million USD).
From Online Celebrity to Criminal Defendant
Hoang Huong (born in 1987 in Phu Tho province) rose to fame by leveraging social media, where she portrayed herself as a self-made tycoon in the pharmaceutical and wellness industry. On her personal social media channels, she is listed as the owner of the Hoang Huong Confident Smile International Dental Clinic chain in Hanoi.
However, her career has been dogged by controversy. She has a long history of run-ins with regulators over misleading advertisements for her dietary supplements. She has also drawn public ire for making derogatory and disparaging statements about certain communities online.
In a notable 2020 incident, Huong was criticized for posting false information regarding storm and flood conditions in Quang Binh province, an act that authorities said undermined the credibility and efforts of local disaster relief operations.
The Investigation Widens
Based on the evidence of these violations, the Police Investigation Agency has formally initiated a criminal case. Six individuals have been charged with "Violating regulations on accounting causing serious consequences." Alongside Hoang Huong, the list of defendants includes two of her brothers-in-law and three key employees, highlighting the family-and-associate nature of the operation.
Authorities have stated that the investigation is ongoing and expanding to uncover other potential criminal activities associated with Huong and her network. The case is seen as a major move by Vietnam's authorities to crack down on economic crime and tax evasion, particularly among figures who use their online influence to build seemingly legitimate but allegedly fraudulent business empires.