https://vietnamnet.vn/en/vietnamese-women-caught-in-laundering-trap-2428232.html

Women lured by Nigerian partners helped launder billions through shell companies.

They were factory workers, food delivery riders, ordinary women - until they fell for smooth-talking, young African men. What followed was not romance, but a dangerous descent into crime, as these women became unwitting pawns or active players in a transnational money laundering network worth trillions of dong.

Ho Chi Minh City police recently concluded their investigation and recommended the prosecution of 21 individuals tied to a major case involving money laundering and illegal cross-border currency transfers, dismantled more than a year ago.

According to investigators, the operation involved Nigerian nationals conspiring with Vietnamese citizens to establish nearly 300 shell companies across Ho Chi Minh City. These firms were used to receive funds from international fraud schemes, launder the money, and then move it abroad.

Shockingly, among the accused are several Vietnamese women who were romantically involved with young Nigerian men - only to be manipulated or coerced into directly participating in the criminal ring.

From love to laundering: the case of Mai Tra My

One key figure is Mai Tra My (33, from Dak Lak), indicted for money laundering. Once a single mother with no stable income, she later married Darah Chiazoh Henry, a Nigerian national. When the ring was exposed, the couple vanished.

Investigators confirmed that the pair had direct links to international cyber fraud rings. In Vietnam, their main role was recruiting locals to register fake companies and open bank accounts for funneling illegal funds.

My’s younger brother, Mai Vu Minh (30, a phone repairman from Tay Ninh), was also involved. Under their guidance, he established numerous businesses and helped launder $789,000 USD, profiting around 383 million VND (approx. $15,000 USD).

A fake marriage, 53 ghost companies, and 1.5 million USD laundered

Another couple indicted for money laundering includes Le Thi Tham (49) and her Nigerian husband, Okoye Chrirtian Ikechukwy (40). Tham, a former factory worker and mother of three, met Okoye in 2019. He had overstayed his visa and scraped by doing construction work. They married after a year and struggled financially.

In early 2023, after Tham suffered a traffic accident, the couple’s hardships deepened. That’s when a friend of Okoye’s - another Nigerian - offered them a role in a money laundering operation. Desperate, they agreed.

Their job was to register companies and bank accounts to receive illicit funds from abroad. In exchange, they received 3-7% commission per transaction.

Police allege they created 53 shell companies (mostly under Tham’s name) and laundered nearly $1.5 million USD, earning over 2.1 billion VND (approx. $82,000 USD).

243 ghost companies: a romance gone rogue

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy (36, from Ba Diem commune, HCMC) and Nigerian national Eneh Davion Cabeb (29) played a more significant role before Eneh vanished, leaving Thuy to face justice alone.

Thuy, previously a food delivery worker and single mother of two, met a Nigerian woman named Selena in late 2022 while delivering food. Selena hired her to open bank accounts and register shell companies, paying 2 million VND (approx. $78 USD) per company.

By March 2023, Selena introduced Eneh, who became Thuy’s handler - and later, her lover. They lived together as husband and wife while continuing their operations. Thuy was paid 2% of all laundered money routed through companies she helped set up.

Authorities found she registered 112 fake companies and earned 224 million VND in direct payments and nearly 600 million VND from illegal withdrawals.

In August 2023, fearing exposure, Thuy recruited two friends - Tran Thi Huong (35, Ninh Binh) and Dinh Kha Han (24, Vinh Long) - paying them 2 million VND per company. The trio ultimately helped establish 243 shell companies.

Thuy alone laundered over $3.1 million USD and 2.9 million Euros, profiting nearly 1.1 billion VND (approx. $43,000 USD). Huong created 116 companies, laundering $2.3 million USD and receiving 238 million VND in commission. Han registered 15 firms, earned 30 million VND, and was not criminally charged.