•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
The defendant Vu Duc Tinh (born 1981) together with nine accomplices engaged in fraud by mobilizing funds and promising to pay interest, salaries, and bonuses through a disguised multi-level marketing scheme, but did not perform; selling shares before listing; and promoting the sale of real estate projects that do not exist. From 2021 to 2022, Vu Duc Tinh conspired with Quản Văn Dương (born 1984, from Hung Yen) and Nguyen Thi Như (born 1985, in Hanoi) to establish Bankland Company. Tinh financed the establishment and directed the company’s operations, serving as a senior adviser. Quản Văn Dương served as Chair of the Board, and Nguyen Thi Như as the Chief Executive Officer. Under the agreement, Tinh would receive 10% of the company’s revenue and profits. After formation, Tinh directed Như and Dương to organize conferences and seminars containing false information about investment types to solicit investors to contribute capital in the form of investment cooperation into the company; buying unlisted shares on the market. In reality, Bankland did not engage in business activities to generate profits. Tinh also directed propaganda and promotion to sell unlicensed real estate projects with the aim of misappropriating investors’ funds. To manage assets and cash of the investors deposited with Bankland, Tinh arranged for Nguyen Thi Thanh Van to act as Chief Accountant since the company’s founding to manage the accounting department and regulate cash flow. Two individuals, Nguyen Van Minh (born 1991, in Ho Chi Minh City) and Nguyen Duc Minh (born 1995, in Hai Phong), assisted Tinh in managing and holding assets formed from the company’s funds. Additionally, Tinh established Bankland’s entities Cawiho and GBF. In reality, all three enterprises owned by Tinh did not engage in production or business activities, operating only as a pyramid scheme that mobilized funds from investors to pay earlier investors. After forming the companies, Tinh instructed the Chairs and company directors to organize conferences and seminars, disseminate false information about investment types to recruit investors into the company’s investment cooperation, and promote the sale of unlisted shares; and promote selling unlicensed real estate projects, including a real estate project in Hong Van village, Thuong Tin district (old name), Hanoi. Between December 2021 and August 2022, Bankland engaged in fraud totaling 480 billion VND. Of this, the defendants misappropriated more than 461.6 billion through mobilizing funds with promises to pay interest, salaries, and bonuses via a disguised pyramid scheme but did not deliver; misappropriated 16 billion through selling BLI shares before listing on the stock market; and misappropriated 2.3 billion through promoting the sale of real estate projects that did not exist.
Premium gym chains are entering a “golden era” that is ending or already in decline, as rising operating costs collide with shifting consumer preferences toward more flexible, community-based ways to exercise. Long-term memberships are shrinking, margins are pressured by higher rents and facility expenses, and competition from smaller, more personalized…
