On the afternoon of October 14, Hanoi Police officially released information regarding the investigation into violations at NextTech Group JSC, where Nguyen Hoa Binh (born 1981, residing in Hanoi) served as Chairman of the Board.

According to the investigation agency, police have filed formal charges and arrested Nguyen Hoa Binh along with nine other individuals. They face two criminal charges: “fraudulent appropriation of assets” and “violations of accounting regulations causing serious consequences.”

At the police station, Binh confessed to his actions and made a commitment to restitution.

“During my time working with investigators, I became fully aware of the severity of my actions and I hereby pledge to compensate the investors who suffered losses due to their involvement in the AntEx cryptocurrency project,” he said.

Withdrawing funds from 30,000 investor wallets

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Nguyen Hoa Binh (Shark Binh) at the police station. Photo: Hanoi Police

Investigators revealed that in May 2021, Nguyen Hoa Binh and several associates agreed to invest in developing the AntEx cryptocurrency, which was stored in Binance wallets. Their stated goal was to sell AntEx tokens and attract investment for the future development of the VNDT token and VNDT e-wallet application.

In reality, the VNDT project was never completed.

The initial capital investment for the AntEx project was $5 billion VND (approximately $205,000), of which Binh personally contributed $2 billion VND (approximately $82,000). He directed the establishment of a legal entity called Vietnam Blockchain Technology Services JSC, where the initial investment was deposited to fund AntEx’s operations.

During the development of the project, the group drafted public policies promoting the project and announced plans to issue 100 billion AntEx tokens into the market.

From August to November 2021, the group sold 33.2 billion AntEx tokens to roughly 30,000 investors through cryptocurrency exchanges, collecting approximately 4.5 million USDT (equivalent to $4.5 million or 117 billion VND).

Between November and December 2021, leveraging his reputation and public influence, Binh promoted the launch of the “Next100 Blockchain Investment Fund” and promised $50 million in future investments over the next 10 years. This move was intended to build confidence in AntEx and attract more investors.

Despite the project not progressing as planned, Binh and his associates withdrew funds from the master wallet of the AntEx project. These funds were transferred into personal digital wallets, then converted into Vietnamese dong and split among the group.

Additionally, funds were funneled into companies within the NextTech ecosystem, where they were used for unauthorized purposes, violating investor trust.

Hanoi police have concluded that Binh and the founding shareholders withdrew money from roughly 30,000 investor wallets and misappropriated a large amount of capital.

Authorities have seized and frozen a variety of assets from the defendants, totaling approximately 900 billion VND (around $36.8 million). The seized assets include 597 taels of gold, foreign currency, 18 land use right certificates, two automobiles, along with numerous documents, accounting records, and electronic devices related to the case.

Further fraud through property firm NextLand

In 2022, investigators discovered that Binh also directed the creation of a real estate company called NextLand Real Estate Business JSC. He instructed staff to falsify profits and hide revenue by listing artificially lowered selling prices on customer contracts.

This deliberate accounting manipulation resulted in particularly large losses to the state budget.

Alongside Nguyen Hoa Binh, Hanoi Police also issued indictments for nine other individuals connected to the AntEx cryptocurrency project.

Tien Dung