Holiday Contract Fraud Case: 34 Directors Charged in Hanoi; Over $27 Million in Assets Frozen

Hanoi police have charged 194 people in connection with a widespread "holiday contract" fraud scheme, a significant number of whom are high-ranking executives. Among those prosecuted are 34 individuals identified as chairpersons, general directors, and deputy general directors of the implicated companies. The investigation has so far identified 27 companies involved, with legal action initiated against 24 of them.

Colonel Do The Thang, Deputy Head of the Economic Crimes Investigation Police Department (PC03) of the Hanoi Police, provided an update on the case. He noted that the average age of the accused ranges from 20 to 40, with many sales staff and directors holding bachelor's degrees. Notably, some of the charged directors were born as recently as 2000.

The scheme involved employees moving between different companies within the network, and some directors establishing new entities to continue their fraudulent activities. The investigation revealed that from 2023 to 2025, these companies sold "holiday ownership" contracts, luring customers with travel invitations and free vouchers to purchase packages ranging from 200 million to 900 million Vietnamese dong. The police have seized and frozen assets exceeding 682 billion Vietnamese dong, including vehicles, property deeds, savings books, and bank accounts, to compensate victims.

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In the 27 companies we have investigated, we found that some sales staff worked for a period, then moved to other companies. Some directors established these companies, then established other companies to continue the fraud.