Vietnam indicts 141, including foreigners, in $106 mln gambling ring at Pullman hotel

Among those indicted are Ho Dai Dung, former deputy chairman of old Phu Tho Province, and Ngo Ngoc Duc, former party secretary of previous Hoa Binh City. 

Phu Tho Province and Hoa Binh City, both located in northern Vietnam, were administrative units at the time of the alleged offenses but have recently been reorganized under Vietnam's national administrative restructuring plan.

Dung is accused of participating in 95 gambling sessions involving more than US$7 million, while Duc is alleged to have gambled 74 times, wagering over $4.2 million.

Prosecutors allege the 141 defendants organized and participated in gambling activities totaling approximately VND2.6 trillion ($106 million) at King Club, located on the first floor of the Pullman Hanoi Hotel.

King Club was operated by Viet Hai Dang Investment & Entertainment Co. Ltd, a company owned by businessman Tran Van Long. 

The company was registered in Ho Chi Minh City in April 2000 to provide electronic gaming services, including slot machines, for foreign passport holders.

Ownership of the company has changed multiple times. 

As of March 2024, Long held a 70 percent stake, Phan Dao Son 20 percent, and Nguyen Dinh Lam 10 percent.

According to investigators, Viet Hai Dang signed a contract with HS Development Vietnam Co. Ltd, founded in early 2020 with $1 million in registered capital, to manage King Club. 

HS Development, based in Hanoi, was led by South Korean national Kim In Sung, who allegedly employed three other South Korean nationals to manage operations.

Between April and June 2024, the club is accused of illegally allowing 145 Vietnamese nationals to gamble, in violation of regulations restricting access to foreigners and overseas Vietnamese.

Prosecutors allege Kim orchestrated the operation and collected all of the profits. 

He is accused of earning more than $9.2 million from players' losses.

Although marketed as a business club for overseas Vietnamese, King Club allegedly functioned as an underground casino catering to domestic gamblers, bypassing Vietnam's strict gambling laws.