The police in Vietnam arrested members of the Paynet Coin cryptocurrency pyramid for $200 million.

GateUser-d29924af · 2025-08-14T06:10:51+00:00

Vietnamese police have dismantled a major cryptocurrency scam involving Paynet Coin, detaining 20 individuals including the alleged leader. The scheme promised high returns and operated like a Ponzi scheme, attracting thousands of investors. Authorities have frozen $38 million in assets linked to the operation.

GateUser-d29924af

2025-08-14 06:10:51

Abstract generation in progress

The police of Vietnam announced the dismantling of the largest cryptocurrency scam in the country, built around the Paynet Coin token (PAYN), local media report. During the operation, 20 people were arrested, including the alleged organizer, 45-year-old Nguyen Van Ha from the province of Gia Lai.

According to authorities, scammers attracted thousands of investors through the sites FMCPAY.com and AFF2024.com. They promised a monthly income of up to 9% and bonuses for bringing in new participants. The funds of new arrivals were directed towards payments to old investors, which indicates a classic financial pyramid scheme, law enforcement officials emphasized.

The investigation found that Paynet Coin was presented as a legitimate project registered in the USA, with the ability to book airline tickets and hotels, as well as an allegedly registered exchange. To increase trust, the group organized presentations in five-star hotels.

Authorities claim that Nguyen Van Ha personally withdrew around $200 million. At the time of the arrests, funds continued to flow in, including from investors in India and the Philippines. Police in Phu Tho province reported the freezing and confiscation of assets totaling $38 million, including cash, foreign currency, and real estate.

Ha, his deputy Fan Viet Lap and other participants are accused of violating multi-level marketing laws and using electronic networks for illegal appropriation of property.

In July 2025, a large-scale scheme involving cryptocurrency fraud was uncovered in Ukraine. According to the police, the victims of the criminals were citizens of Germany, Slovakia, the USA, Canada, and the Czech Republic. Participants in the scheme, who were fluent in foreign languages, deceived them into giving up their funds by posing as employees of non-existent investment companies.

We remind you that the co-founder of Terraform Labs, Do Kwon, has pleaded guilty to fraud of $40 billion.

View Original

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.