Highlights
- Renowned Vietnamese actress and producer Trương Ngọc Ánh has been arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on charges of massive financial fraud.
- She is accused of misappropriating thousands of taels of gold and tens of billions of dong from her own real estate company.
- The allegations stem from a complaint filed by Dat Rong Real Estate JSC, where she formerly served as Chairwoman and Director.
- Investigations reveal a complex scheme involving inflated project costs and diverted funds from a foreign investor.
A Celebrated Star Detained
In a shocking development that has stunned the Vietnamese entertainment industry, acclaimed actress Trương Ngọc Ánh, 49, was arrested on October 31st by the Economic Police Department of Ho Chi Minh City. The official charge is “abuse of trust to appropriate property,” a serious felony that could jeopardize her celebrated career.
The arrest follows a formal complaint from the board of Dat Rong Real Estate JSC, a company Trương Ngọc Ánh once helmed. She is accused of orchestrating a series of fraudulent activities that siphoned off immense wealth from the company and its investors.
The Multi-Million Dollar Fraud Allegations
The investigation centers on her time as the Chairwoman and legal representative of Dat Rong. Authorities allege that Trương Ngọc Ánh leveraged her position to embezzle funds through sophisticated real estate schemes.
The Indochine Building Project
A key part of the case involves the Indochine building project. Trương Ngọc Ánh successfully solicited a $9.1 million investment (over 149 billion VND) from an Irish national, with $4.49 million specifically allocated for this project.
According to the investment contract, the property was to be acquired by Dat Rong for a value of 12,917 gold taels. However, investigators uncovered that Trương Ngọc Ánh and an associate had secretly purchased the land under their personal names for only 7,917 gold taels. She allegedly recorded a payment of 4,458 taels in the company’s books while only spending 3,000, thereby appropriating the difference.
Diverted Compensation Funds
Further allegations state that after the government repossessed the land for a public school project, it paid over 26.1 billion VND in compensation. The money was returned to Trương Ngọc Ánh, but she allegedly funneled only 3 billion VND back to the company and its investor, keeping more than 10 billion VND for personal use without any proper accounting.
The police also accuse her of abusing her authority to make unauthorized withdrawals from company accounts and manipulating financial reports to conceal her actions.
A Glittering Career Now Under a Cloud
Trương Ngọc Ánh has been a towering figure in Vietnamese pop culture for over three decades. Rising to fame with iconic films like Đồng tiền xương máu and Áo lụa Hà Đông, she also won the Miss New Model International pageant in 1998. In recent years, she transitioned into a successful film producer with hits like Hương Ga and served as the president of Miss Earth Vietnam 2023. This scandal marks a dramatic and devastating turn in her storied career, leaving fans and the public in disbelief.