Asia-Pacific Securities leaders arrested for manipulating stock market

Asia-Pacific Securities JSC chairman Pham Duy Hung and general director Nguyen Do Lang were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly manipulating the Vietnamese stock market.

Hanoi police's investigative agency also detained Lang's wife Huynh Thi Mai Dung; Nguyen Thi Thanh, Asia-Pacific Securities JSC's chief accountant; and Pham Thi Duc Viet, deputy head of the firm's customer services, for investigation into alleged stock market manipulation under the Penal Code.

Six days ago, Hanoi police launched criminal proceedings against the case that had happened at Asia-Pacific Securities (APS), Asia Pacific Investment JSC (API), and IDJ Investment JSC.

At the end of 2021, "Apec family" stocks became a phenomenon in the stock market as they recorded multifold increases after only a short period of time.

From August to November 2021, the API stock rose from around VND7,600 to nearly VND50,000 ($2.12), IDJ increased from VND7,500 to more than VND42,000, while APS spiked many times.

However, after a strong uptrend, this group simultaneously went down in line with the falling momentum of the market. One year later, API was even lower than the price before the increase, staying at only VND5,500.

In the last three consecutive sessions, the "Apec family" stocks simultaneously fell to their floor prices. Closing Wednesday's morning session, APS down 9.4%, API down 9.7%, and IDJ down 9.2%.