On June 17, Ho Chi Minh City Police announced that the Investigation Police Agency had just arrested Aigars Plivčs (Latvian nationality, born in 1985) to investigate the crime of "Lending high interest rates in civil transactions".
Aigars Plivčs was identified as the boss behind the lending websites tamo.vn and findo.vn, discovered by the police in April 2023.
Aigars Plivčs at the investigation agency. (Photo: CACC)
According to the Investigation Agency, through three legal entities, Sofi Solutions Company, Digital Credit and Fincap VN, Sun Finance Group based in Latvia created the websites tamo.vn and findo.vn.
These websites operate in the form of electronic consumer finance lending in Vietnam. Customers only need to log in to the website, fill in personal information (including full name, phone number, email address, monthly income, monthly expenses, ID card/CCCD number, account number, ID photo, front photo of themselves...) and the system will automatically process the loan without having to directly contact any staff of the lender.
Immediately after that, the customer will receive the loan transferred to their bank account. At this time, the system automatically creates 3 electronic contracts including a pawn loan contract, a property mortgage contract with Digital Credit Company/Fincap Company, and a consulting service contract with Sofi Solutions Company.
All these contracts are stored on the system, the parties do not sign anything on the contract. Each customer in the process of operating on the loan system will be guided to create an account on the system "tamo", "findo". Customers can view their loan information by logging into the website tamo.vn, findo.vn or through the application "tamo", "findo" on the phone.
At the investigation agency, Aigars Plivčs confessed that he was an employee of Sun Finance Group headquartered in Latvia, the group that manages and operates all lending activities through the two websites tamo.vn and findo.vn. Although not the legal representative, Aigars Plivčs is the executive director of all activities such as lending, debt collection, cost management, and human resources through department heads and division heads of the three companies. Aigars Plivčs has a 2% stake in Sofi Solutions Company.
Aigars Plivčs admitted that all three companies operated together, participating in lending through two websites, tamo.vn and findo.vn. In which, Sofi Solutions Company acted as a consulting unit, Digital Credit/Fincap VN Company was a consumer lending unit even though it was not licensed. This person admitted that when customers borrowed money through the two websites above, the company did not have any consulting or pawnbroking activities. At the same time, Aigars Plivčs knew clearly that the interest rates of the loans were higher than 100%/year but still agreed to continue organizing lending activities.
Aigars Plivčs hired legal representatives to establish 3 companies: Sofi Solutions LLC, Digital Credit Trading and Service LLC and Fincap VN LLC. All of the above companies were directed by Aigars Plivčs to carry out usury in civil transactions. The lowest lending interest rate of these companies is 401.5%/year; the highest is 1,379.7%/year, 20 to 68 times higher than the highest interest rate allowed under the provisions of the Civil Code.
It is known that the total amount of illegal profits that the Investigation Police Agency has proven through working with 29 borrowers is more than 780 million VND. Aigars Plivčs's behavior shows signs of the crime of "Lending at high interest rates in civil transactions" as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 201 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017.
Regarding the case, on May 26, 2023, Ho Chi Minh City Police simultaneously inspected many locations of "black credit" activities disguised as businesses. Thereby, they issued a decision to prosecute the case, prosecuting 9 defendants, who are Directors, Department Heads, Division Heads, and Team Leaders of Digital Credit Trading and Service Company Limited, Fincap VN Company Limited and Sofi Solutions Company Limited for the crime of "Lending at high interest rates in civil transactions".
Specifically, the prosecuted subjects include: Nguyen Thi Tuyet Suong (born in 1968, residing in District 10), Director of Digital Credit Trading and Service Company Limited; Truong Tuan Tai (born in 1991, residing in District 6), Director of Fincap VN Company Limited; Tran Dung (born in 1986, residing in Ward 14, Go Vap District), Head of Operations Department of Sofi Solutions Company Limited; Cao Thi Xuan Huong (born in 1978, residing in Ward 13, District 3), Chief Accountant of Sofi Solutions Company Limited; Dang Hung Tuan (born in 1987, residing in An Phu Dong Ward, District 12), Head of Debt Collection Department of Sofi Solutions Company Limited; Nguyen Thi Be Nam (residing in District 12), Head of Debt Collection Group G1, Sofi Solutions Company Limited; Dinh Thi Hong Loan (born in 1980, residing in Hiep Binh Phuoc Ward, Thu Duc City), Head of Human Resources Administration Department of Sofi Solutions Company Limited; Luu Tuan Binh (born in 1982, residing in District 4), Head of Marketing Department of Sofi Solutions Company Limited and Ho Thi Bich Chi (born in 1990, residing in District 5), Head of debt collection team G2 of Sofi Solutions Company Limited.
During the investigation, the Investigation Police Agency determined that the above companies were hiding under the guise of pawnshop and financial consulting services to operate high-interest lending activities through the websites tamo.vn and findo.vn. From April 2019 to April 2023, through the above 2 websites, the 3 companies disbursed more than 2 million loans, totaling more than 6,072 billion VND, illegally profiting more than 4,123.4 billion VND, with the lowest interest rate being 153.2%, the highest being 1,289.67%, from 7 times to 64 times the highest interest rate prescribed in the Civil Code.
Luong Y
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