Two Vietnamese residents, Ho Ngoc Tai and Tran Ngoc Hoang, have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court for kidnapping and stealing $1.5 million worth of Bitcoin from an individual. Fourteen other people who also took part in the crime received sentences between 9 and 19 years. According to the court ruling, the digital assets are illegal in Vietnam, and individuals or businesses cannot accept them as a currency or a means of payment. Nevertheless, the culprits managed to convert the stolen Bitcoin to approximately $800,000. The court declared that the criminals should compensate the victim with that amount. Retrospecting the case reveals that the incident occurred five years ago when Le Duc Nguyen suggested that Ho Ndoc Tai should sell 1,000 BTC, equivalent to over $4 million at the time. Tai assembled a gang in a bid to retrieve his funds and used sophisticated methods to track Nguyen’s location, hired a van, purchased weapons, and kidnapped the victim at gunpoint. The police detected the crime, and all 16 suspects were arrested. Tai initially admitted to running the operation but later reversed his confession. Meanwhile, his associates claimed that they believed they would only collect the debt from the victim and not participate in the kidnapping. Two of the associates, Nguyen Quoc Dung and Nguyen Anh Tuan, served as police officers a few years back, and the former was sentenced to 17 years, while the latter will stay in a correctional facility for 12 years. No mercy was shown during the trial, and the Vietnamese Court has proven that cyber theft and criminal activities are punishable offenses.
About the author - J-S Tremblay
I've been involved in the cryptocurrency world since 2016 and trading since 2019. I started Moon and Lambo in 2021. I'm passionate about crypto and love to share my knowledge. I hate bankers and I hope that cryptocurrency will change the financial world for the better. View full profile...
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