Police expose organized scheme in which firms charged illicit fees to thousands of workers seeking to work abroad

Vietnamese police have uncovered an organized-crime ring operating in the labour export sector, alleging that firms and officials created obstacles to delay approvals and then demanded payments to “remove bottlenecks.” Investigators said the scheme diverted tens of thousands of people seeking work abroad and charged fees ranging from a few million dong to more than 150 million dong per person depending on the destination.

Shifting costs onto prospective workers

Investigations concluded that, during his tenure, former Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Ba Hoan abused his authority by directing subordinates to establish procedures outside regulations, effectively creating an extra-licensing process designed to impede enterprises.

At the operational level, investigators accused Tong Hai Nam, head of the Department of Overseas Labour Management, and his subordinates of implementing the mechanism by repeatedly requiring companies to supplement documents, extending appraisal times, and imposing requirements that were “nearly impossible to meet.” As a result, enterprises were allegedly forced to pay “facilitation” fees to speed up processing.

Hoang Long Company

At Hoang Long Company, Chairman and CEO Nghiem Quoc Hung was accused of ordering additional payments of 45 million to 135 million dong per worker depending on destination.

• Japan: up to 144 million dong (about 87 million dong above the allowed limit)
• Taiwan: about 123 million dong (42 million dong higher)
• Korea (high-tech program): up to 293 million dong per person (up to 153 million dong above the limit)

During 2020–2024, Hoang Long sent more than 15,000 workers abroad, with actual receipts exceeding 1,800 billion dong. Investigators said more than 1,200 billion dong was kept off the books, depriving the state budget of over 241 billion dong.

To conceal the alleged violations, Hung was accused of ordering two parallel accounting systems—one for tax reporting and another to track off-book cash receipts. Employees were reportedly issued two types of receipts with different amounts to support the records.

Sona Company and Incoop3

Chủ tịch Sona Company, Nguyen Duc Nam, was also accused of charging over 1,900–2,100 USD per worker to Japan, 5,000–5,500 USD per worker to Korea, and 2,200–2,300 USD per worker to Lithuania. Over four years, investigators said the company collected 29.2 billion dong in excess of the rules from more than 1,000 workers, which was not accounted for.

Incoop3, led by Nguyen Viet Dinh, was found to have charged an extra 500–1,000 USD per worker to Korea, totaling about 6 billion dong in improper receipts.

Use of illicit funds to “bribe” officials

Police said a significant portion of the alleged proceeds was used to bribe officials to secure approvals and permits. Hung was accused of spending nearly 240,000 USD to maintain influence, including two instances in which he allegedly gave a total of 170,000 USD to former Deputy Minister Nguyen Ba Hoan.

Hoan was also accused of receiving 50 million dong from Sona’s leadership and 450,000 USD plus 90 million dong in gifts on holidays from various enterprises.

Payments tied to approvals and permits

Investigators said Tong Hai Nam received billions of dong and tens of thousands of USD to approve dossiers and issue permits. In the permit process, Nam allegedly received more than 4.65 billion dong and 36,000 USD to resolve 29 cases.

Police further alleged that former Deputy Minister Hoan received 950 million dong and two watches worth 450 million dong from Nam to sign 14 permits. Technician Nguyen Thanh Hung was accused of direct involvement, receiving a total of 7.7 billion dong to “run” 26 permits for enterprises.

Total alleged illicit gains

Supplementary investigative conclusions cited total illicit gains of about 5.75 billion dong for Hoan, 7.3 billion dong for Nam, and 7.7 billion dong for Hung. Two former deputy heads, Pham Viet Huong and Nguyen Gia Liem, were respectively said to have received 500 million dong and 168 million dong.