Vietnamese law enforcement has detained several individuals connected to the ONUS crypto platform, alleging they used deceptive promotions and coordinated trading activity to defraud investors. The Ministry of Public Security announced Thursday that the investigation targets a group accused of manipulating token supply and demand, artificially adjusting prices, and presenting digital assets as legitimate investment vehicles while retaining centralized control over their markets. The ministry did not specify the total financial losses suffered by investors, though police say the scheme raised billions of dollars.
Among those named in the case is Vuong Le Vinh Nhan, whom US-based fintech firm Vemanti Group identifies as chairman of its board and links to XPLOR, the Singapore-based parent company of ONUS Pro. Also named are Tran Quang Chien, reported in Vietnamese media as the technical administrator of the ONUS exchange and identified by Vemanti as a board member, and Ngo Thi Thao, director of HanaGold Jewelry JSC. Authorities allege the suspects were involved in creating and promoting tokens including VNDC, ONUS and HNG through the platform.
The investigation was conducted across multiple cities and involved a coordinated effort by several agencies. Police summoned more than 140 individuals for questioning and seized evidence as part of a wider campaign to dismantle large-scale crypto fraud operations. Vemanti said it became aware of the indictments of Nhan Vuong and Chien Tran through the ministry’s announcement and Vietnamese media coverage, and has since engaged US legal counsel to evaluate the implications for the company.
The ONUS platform describes itself as a digital asset ecosystem offering trading, staking and investment products, and claims a user base of more than seven million. Its official account on X has over 885,000 followers. Despite the scale of the alleged fraud, market data aggregator CoinMarketCap lists the ONUS token with a self-reported market capitalization of approximately $25 million, pointing to a notable gap between that figure and the scope of losses alleged by authorities.
ONUS has not issued any public statement in response to the arrests. Cointelegraph contacted the platform for comment but had not received a reply before publication. The case adds to growing regulatory scrutiny of cryptocurrency activity in Vietnam, which is considered one of the most active retail digital asset markets in the world.
In a separate development, India‘s Central Bureau of Investigation announced Thursday the arrest of a Mumbai-based suspect accused of facilitating human trafficking to scam compounds in Myanmar. According to the agency, victims were lured with job offers in Thailand before being redirected to fraud centers in Myanmar’s Myawaddy region, where they were allegedly confined, intimidated and coerced into conducting online scams. These schemes reportedly included crypto investment fraud and romance scams targeting victims around the world.
Originally reported by CoinTelegraph.
