The once-famous project of Ms. Le Diep Kieu Trang is entangled in a debt scandal.

Once expected to be the 'Tesla of the bicycle industry', the start-up Arevo of Le Diep Kieu Trang and her husband is embroiled in a scandal of billions of dong in debt to a Vietnamese partner and is accused of evading responsibility.

Arevo Vietnam's 3D printed SuperStrata bike - Photo: Arevo

According to information from the Ho Chi Minh City Civil Judgment Enforcement Department, Arevo Ho Chi Minh City Company Limited (Arevo) was sued by Asia Refrigeration Engineering Joint Stock Company (Arico) at the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) for not paying for processing orders made in previous years.

In early 2024, VIAC issued a judgment requiring Arevo to pay Arico more than VND7.6 billion including principal, penalties, interest and related costs. However, to date, Arevo has not fulfilled its payment obligation.

After that, Arico submitted a request for enforcement of the judgment to the Civil Judgment Enforcement Department of Ho Chi Minh City and this unit issued a decision to enforce the judgment and at the same time banned Mr. Nguyen Minh Tho - General Director and legal representative of Arevo from leaving the country.

It is worth mentioning that start-up Arevo is a carbon fiber bicycle manufacturer with the SuperStrata brand that was launched in the Vietnamese market and was very positively received by the user community.

Arevo has successfully raised more than $7 million from the community and about $25 million from international investors.

This project is associated with the names of Ms. Le Diep Kieu Trang (former CEO of Facebook Vietnam) and her husband, Mr. Sonny Vu.

After delivering the car, Arevo received backlash from the community for slow delivery progress, poor quality, many technical errors, and lack of customer care and feedback.

In 2023, Arevo also ceased operations at Ho Chi Minh City Hi-Tech Park.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Huynh Khoi Binh (representative of Arico) said that because he trusted the reputation of the founder and owner of Arevo, the company processed details for Arevo's bicycles.

According to Mr. Binh, after completing the processing orders, the company requested payment many times but Arevo avoided it.

"Despite the arbitration award and the enforcement agency's decision, Arevo has yet to fulfill its payment obligations. Instead, Arevo's owner representative continues to go to the media to call for investment in new business projects.

Importantly, we expect the individuals running Arevo to fulfill their obligations and not to shirk or avoid business responsibilities as they have done in the past," said Mr. Binh.

Tuoi Tre Online contacted the legal representative of Arevo Ho Chi Minh City Company Limited, but received no response. Due to not completing the execution of the judgment, the legal representative of Arevo was still banned from leaving the country as of December 24.

Arevo Ho Chi Minh City Company Limited is a company founded by Le Diep Kieu Trang and is the representative owner. Specifically, Arevo Ho Chi Minh City Company Limited is a one-member LLC owned by AREVO INC (a legal entity in the United States) (contributing 100% of the charter capital). Currently, Ms. Le Diep Kieu Trang is still the representative of AREVO INC's capital contribution at Arevo Ho Chi Minh City Company Limited.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/du-an-dinh-dam-mot-thoi-cua-ba-le-diep-kieu-trang-vuong-lum-xum-no-nan-20241224103941238.htm