Before delving into the duration of Nguyen Van Duong’s imprisonment in the multi-billion gambling case, it is important to understand who Nguyen Van Duong is. Known as a businessman, he is the Chairman of CNC Corporation. The company was established in September 2011 with an initial capital of 20 billion Vietnamese dong. In 2017, CNC was granted a license to provide intermediary payment services, including electronic payment gateways, e-wallets, and collection services, valid for a period of 10 years.
Prior to this, Duong served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of UDIC Investment Corporation and was a member of the investor consortium for the Bac Giang – Lang Son Expressway project. However, due to financial incapacity, UDIC had to participate in a restructuring plan involving another group of investors after the investor consortium, of which the company was a member, terminated the project contract.
Furthermore, Nguyen Van Duong came under the police’s scrutiny as he was suspected to be a “gambling kingpin” in Vietnam. He was arrested during a campaign against illegal gambling activities.
A multi-billion dong gambling network was identified to have received protection from high-ranking leaders in the police force, including C50 Department Director Nguyen Thanh Hoa, and Nguyen Van Duong was determined to be involved in this network.
Why was Nguyen Van Duong arrested and prosecuted?
According to information recorded in the court’s verdict, Nguyen Van Duong was found to have exploited CNC’s business activities under C50 Department to collaborate with Phan Sao Nam in organizing illegal gambling games. His actions resulted in extremely serious consequences, with illegal proceeds exceeding 1,600 billion dong.
The money laundering scheme involved the transfer of funds through multiple layers and investments in various projects to legitimize Duong’s “dirty” money, thereby constituting the crimes of “Organizing gambling” and “Money laundering.”
How long is Nguyen Van Duong’s prison sentence?
According to the court’s verdict, after 12 days of trial and 4 days of deliberation, on the afternoon of November 30, 2018, the Trial Council officially pronounced sentences for the individuals involved in the “multi-billion gambling” case, including 92 defendants.
Nguyen Van Duong, as the leader of the illegal gambling organization, received a sentence of 5 years in prison for the crime of “Organizing gambling” and 5 years in prison for the crime of “Money laundering.” Therefore, his total sentence is 10 years, considering the leniency policy of the law.
Additionally, Nguyen Van Duong was also arrested for bribery involving Phan Van Vinh and Nguyen Thanh Hoa. According to Duong’s confession during the investigation, he admitted to giving 700 million dong and antivirus software to C50 Department.
However, later on, the People’s Procuracy of Phu Tho province decided nguyen van duong to temporarily suspend Duong’s criminal liability for the bribery charges, following the leniency policy of the state. The reason for this is that the details of the bribery involving Phan Van Vinh and Nguyen Thanh Hoa are not yet clear and will be dealt with later.
In relation to this severe and special case, Phan Sao Nam was also convicted of “Organizing gambling” and “Money laundering” and received a total of 5 years in prison.
