Nguyen Hoa Binh at the police station in Hanoi on October 14.
According to Hanoi Police, Binh faces charges of fraud and asset misappropriation, as well as violations of accounting regulations that have caused serious consequences. Nine others connected to the project have also been prosecuted on similar charges.
At a press briefing on October 6, Hanoi Police Deputy Director Nguyen Duc Long said investigators had received a complaint from an investor who claimed to have lost USD 2,000 after investing in Binh’s blockchain project, AntEx.
Preliminary investigations found that starting in May 2021, Binh, Chairman of NextTech Group, and several associates contributed VND 5 billion (approximately USD 197,000) to develop the AntEx cryptocurrency, which was stored on Binance wallets. Binh personally invested VND 2 billion (around USD 78,800).
The group aimed to sell AntEx tokens and attract investors to fund the development of the VNDT digital currency and VNDT e-wallet software. To manage the project, Binh established Blockchain Vietnam Technology Services JSC and transferred the initial capital to its account.
The team planned to issue 100 billion AntEx tokens. Between August and November 2021, they sold 33.2 billion tokens to around 30,000 investors, raising 4.5 million USDT (equivalent to USD 4.5 million).
Later in 2021, Binh leveraged his public reputation to promote the Next100 Blockchain investment fund on social media, pledging USD 50 million over ten years to support blockchain projects and build investor confidence in AntEx.
Investigators allege that despite the project’s failure to meet its stated goals, Binh and several NextTech shareholders withdrew funds from the project’s main wallet. The money was allegedly transferred to personal wallets, converted into Vietnamese dong, and distributed among the group. Some of the funds were also transferred to NextTech subsidiaries and spent on unrelated purposes.
Authorities accuse Binh and his collaborators of siphoning funds from 30,000 investor wallets, amounting to “particularly large sums.” Police have seized and frozen assets, including 597 gold bars, 18 land title deeds, two cars, and other items worth an estimated VND 900 billion (approximately USD 35.5 million).
Although around 30,000 investors are believed to have contributed USD 4.5 million to AntEx, only four formal complaints have been filed so far, totalling more than VND 4 billion (approximately USD 157,000).
Thanh Kien Trung, Deputy Head of Hanoi Police’s Economic Crime Department, stated that “Binh’s violations are extensive, and the charges are unlikely to stop at these two offences.”
In recent weeks, former AntEx project engineers have publicly accused Binh of “personally directing the liquidity withdrawal that caused the project’s collapse.”
Binh has denied all allegations, claiming on social media that he was also a victim, losing USD 2.5 million and suffering reputational damage.
Nguyen Hoa Binh rose to prominence through Shark Tank Vietnam and has invested in numerous startups across e-commerce, fintech, and media. While still a second-year student at Vietnam National University, he founded the software company Peacesoft in 2001, which later evolved into NextTech Group.
Nguyen Hoa Binh during a Shark Tank Vietnam show
NextTech has since grown into one of Southeast Asia’s largest private technology conglomerates, operating in seven countries with more than 20 subsidiaries spanning fintech, e-commerce, logistics, O2O services, and startup investment.
