Hanoi police extradite ‘Mr Hunter’ Le Khac Ngo back to Vietnam

Hanoi police have extradited Le Khac Ngo, known as “Mr Hunter”, from the Philippines to Vietnam, authorities said on Friday.

The transfer was carried out on Saturday by Hanoi police in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security’s investigative agency (C01), Nguyen Duc Long, deputy director of Hanoi's Police Department, told a press briefing on public security and law enforcement results for 2025 and tasks for 2026.

According to Long, the Hanoi police have reported to the Ministry of Public Security to complete extradition procedures for Ngo and another suspect.

Ngo, 34, widely known online as “Mr Hunter”, is an accomplice of Pho Duc Nam, also known as TikToker “Mr Pips”, in a case involving fraud, money laundering, harboring assets derived from criminal activities and failure to report crimes.

Legal proceedings have been initiated against Nam, Ngo, and 29 others for the mentioned-above charges.

Nam was arrested earlier, while Ngo fled the country. Police later called on him to surrender in exchange for leniency.

Presenting himself as a financial investment expert with 13 years of experience in stocks and foreign exchange, Ngo allegedly colluded with Nam to build a sophisticated scam network that defrauded investors of trillions of dong (VND1 trillion = $37.99 million), investigators said.

Before their arrest, Nam and Ngo frequently showcased lavish lifestyles on social media, including luxury cars, expensive watches, and displays of U.S. dollars, gold and diamonds.

Police said that in 2019, Nam and Ngo worked with a group of foreign nationals to set up a fraud ring modelled on brokerage firms to swindle victims.

Investigators have so far initiated legal proceedings against 48 people and seized or frozen assets worth more than VND5.3 trillion ($201.4 million), including VND69 billion in cash, $2.3 million, 890 SJC gold bars, 246 kg of raw gold, VND156 billion in bank accounts, and 41 cars.

Additional assets seized include a Volvo XC90 on September 24, 59 luxury watches, gold jewellery, designer handbags, and 133 properties placed under transaction suspension.

During the investigation, police also uncovered additional bank accounts linked to Nam, including more than $1.5 million deposited in banks in Singapore, Cambodia and Australia under relatives’ names.

Nam’s overseas assets include two apartments in Cambodia worth about $800,000, an apartment in Dubai worth about $600,000, one apartment in Australia worth around $300,000, and another in Turkey valued at about $400,000, as well as vehicles including two Lexus cars and a Range Rover Defender in Cambodia and two Rolls-Royce cars in Dubai, investigators said.