Vietnamese police are continuing to search the branches of the BBG financial group, whose chairman and CEO, Le Minh Quang, was arrested last week for allegedly running many illegal virtual gold trading floors to mobilize capital.

Police in Hai Phong confirmed on Sunday that Quang, 32, was arrested last Thursday on charges of “conducting business illegally” pursuant to Article 159 of the Penal Code.

Established in October 2010, the BBG group is based in Da Nang and has set up 19 branches and representative offices in many provinces and cities, including Hai Phong, Nghe An and Ho Chi Minh City.

A branch of the BBG financial group that was closed on May 30, 2015 in Hai Phong

Quang’s arrest resulted from an investigation led by the Hai Phong police in conjunction with the high-tech crime police department under the Ministry of Public Security and their counterparts from Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces and cities where the group operates.

As of May 31, police had inspected eight among the 19 branches and representative offices of the group, which has employed more than 600 staffers.

On May 29, police in Hai Phong, with the aid of their counterparts from the Ministry of Public Security, raided a BBG branch in Ngo Quyen District, collecting important material related to the case.

On May 30, the website of the group, at www.bbg.com.vn, stopped operations, police said.

According to the group's business registration certificate, its business lines include trade of gold bars, jewelry, and precious stones; foreign currency exchange; consultancy on gold, silver and precious metals; financial support; credit granting; and others.  

Investigators said the group has mobilized capital amounting to hundreds of billions of dong (VND1 billion equals US$46,140) from investors through its illegal gold trading floors.

In Hai Phong alone, 250 investors have poured nearly VND100 billion into the BBG group through these trading floors, police said.

Investors in the group's trading floors may suffer a total loss amounting to VND500 billion, according to Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

Thanh Nien cited H., an investor in the group’s gold trading floor in Ho Chi Minh City, as saying that the group mobilized capital through these floors at high interest rates, but it has recently been unable to pay interest to its investors.

Therefore, at the customer conference held by BBG a month ago in the city, many investors requested that the group pay them the interest on their investment as per its commitment.

Quang admitted to those investors that the group was facing difficulties so it had yet to pay interest on schedule, according to Thanh Nien.

A source told that Quang is known by investors as “Bill Buck,” which means a dollar billionaire.

The investigation into this “illegal trade” case in underway.

(Source: Tuoitrenews)