Vietnamese claims to be official's son swindles $1.8 million from Japanese firm

Nguyen Nam Huy (R) and Nguyen Quang Thai at a police station in HCMC for swindling $1.8 million from a Japanese company in medical glove scam, March 2022. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Vy

Ho Chi Minh City police arrested a man Tuesday for tricking a Japanese firm into buying medical gloves, then robbing it, reported VN Express.

Nguyen Nam Huy, 39, is being investigated for "fraudulent appropriation of assets."

Huy's wife, Do Thi Thu Mai, who co-owns HCMC-based She Medical Company alongside her husband, and Nguyen Quang Thai, 39, marketing development manager, have also been detained on the same charge.

But Mai, director of the company, is out on bail raising a child.

According to investigators, She Medical signed a deal to sell medical gloves to Japan-based Homes in May 2020 via Bao Viet Securities JSC.

Along with business partners, Huy introduced himself as the son of a deputy minister of industry and trade and therefore, had many connections that could guarantee his customers abundant sources of medical gloves.

Thai oversaw contacting and negotiating with Homes.

In June 2020, Bao Viet Securities JSC was authorized to sign a contract with She Medical to buy 100,000 boxes of medical gloves that cost $6 million.

Homes made a deposit of more than $1.8 million.

As determined, She Medical had to transfer the first batch of the product on July 1 but failed to do so.

Homes then requested She Medical to return their deposit, but Huy and Mai repeatedly avoided them.

In November 2020, the Japanese firm sent a denunciation to HCMC police.

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