Police seek victims in Australian-Vietnamese fraud probe
The Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security on November 12 urged victims of a sprawling loan scam to come forward, as they probe two executives accused of pocketing fees for nonexistent multibillion-dollar financing.
Ranjit Thambyrajah, a 65-year-old Australian who heads Berhero company operating under the name Acuity Funding based in Australia, while serving as General Director of Nam Song Hau Petroleum Trading and Investment JSC; and Nguyen Viet Anh, 43, a dual Vietnamese-Australian national running Acuity Funding Vietnam and Deputy General Director of the same Vietnamese company, allegedly defrauded multiple businesses and individuals.
The pair promised loans ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of US dollars, then collected hefty “service fees” despite lacking any lending capacity, investigators said.
On October 13, the agency initiated criminal proceedings against the case of “fraudulent appropriation of property” in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho and other localities under Article 174 of the 2015 Penal Code. Thambyrajah and Anh were detained for investigation on October 13 and October 20, respectively.
Any entity or individual who wired fees to Thambyrajah and Acuity Funding qualifies as a victim, investigators said.
To ensure a thorough investigation, the ministry called on all affected parties to contact the agency for legal processings. They may reach out directly to investigator Le Quang Hung at 0936.87.88.88 for guidance and further assistance in line with regulations.