Tran Thi Hoang Anh (right) is arrested for cheating people about the repatriation flights during the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo by Danang police
Police in Danang City on October 31 announced that they had detained Tran Thi Hoang Anh, 29, director of the Nhi Anh Tourism and Trading Service Company, for fraud.
According to police reports, Anh's company was not licensed to repatriate Vietnamese citizens from abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic last year. However, she advertised the service via multiple channels.
Each person who registered to return to Vietnam was asked to pay between VND50-70 million, including air tickets, Covid-19 testing and quarantine fees.
When receiving bookings, Anh used faked flight codes and documents by the National Steering Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control and sent the customers so they would trust her and transfer money to her.
Anh is accused of having received bookings and money from dozens of people but failed to arrange the flights. And when some people then sent complaints to Danang police, she tried to flee.
The police are now calling for Anh's victims to come forward and provide more information to receive their money back.
Several senior officials at the foreign ministry have also been arrested and prosecuted for allegedly taking bribes when organising repatriation flights for Vietnamese citizens during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vietnam operated around 2,000 repatriation flights to bring residents home who were stranded overseas due to the pandemic.
