According to investigators, Le Viet Trinh, 27, was approached in early February through social media by a user with a Chinese-character account name. The contact identified himself as the operator of a casino in Cambodia and said he needed help converting illegal gambling proceeds into USDT to disguise the funds' origin. Aware that the activity was illegal, Trinh agreed to organize and run the operation, recruiting others to take part.
The group opened multiple personal bank accounts to receive and move funds. As money came in, Trinh and her foot soldiers, between 23 and 36 years old, routed it through layers of intermediary accounts to erase the trail before forwarding it or converting it into USDT for the operators behind the scheme. The accounts were also marketed on social media groups specializing in laundering services, which brought in additional business from online fraudsters.
Trinh paid her recruits a fixed monthly salary of VND12-17 million (US$456-646), plus VND2.5 million ($95) for each bank account used to receive dirty money. The ring kept roughly 2.5% of total transaction volume as its cut.
Police question suspects of a crypto-laundering ring tied to Cambodian casino in Ha Tinh, central Vietnam. Video by Duc Quang
