Ho Chi Minh City police charge 2 employees of French-invested CityZoo with $671,500 embezzlement

CityZoo Company, which has operated in Vietnam since 1999 with French investment, specializes in providing pet accessories and is an exclusive importer and distributor of Royal Canin-branded premium pet nutrition products, manufactured in France.

The municipal Department of Public Security said on Saturday that the investigation agency had arrested and filed charges against Huynh Van Lam, 30, from Ca Mau Province, and Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, a 31-year-old resident of Lam Dong Province, for their alleged embezzlement of property.

The decisions and detention orders were approved by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Procuracy.

According to investigators, Lam worked in management and debt recovery, while Ha served as an accountant at CityZoo, headquartered at 146D4 Nguyen Van Huong Street, An Khanh Ward.

Police determined that between June 2022 and February 28, 2025, Lam exploited loopholes in the company’s debt payment management and abused his position to update and operate the firm’s accounting software.

He allegedly colluded with Ha to misappropriate company funds.

Specifically, the two allegedly received debt payments from sales staff, but failed to deposit the money into CityZoo’s account.

Instead, they diverted it for personal use.

To conceal the wrongdoing over an extended period, Lam created fictitious accounting entries on the firm’s software to legitimize the figures and avoid detection.

The total amount embezzled is estimated at more than VND17.7 billion.

During questioning, both Lam and Ha reportedly confessed to the offenses.

The economic police division is continuing to expand the investigation, apply necessary procedural measures to trace and recover the misappropriated assets, and handle those involved in accordance with the law.