Russian man arrested for operating illegal loansharking firms in HCMC

A Russian national was detained by Ho Chi Minh City police on Monday for allegedly operating six loansharking companies in the city.

The companies were named as Phuc Loc Tho, Bao Tin Kim Long, Gofigo, Infobot, Infinity, and Solution Lab, whose offices are located on the 7th, 8th, and 11th floors of the Thuy Loi No.4 Building, No.102 Nguyen Xi street, Binh Thanh district.

These firms were found to have provided online loans with interest rates up to 2,555% per year, 128 times higher than the regulated cap of 20%.

Maksim Zubkov, 41, residing in District 7, was identified as the leader of the companies, and has been put in two-month temporary detention on charges of "engaging in usury for civil transactions".

HCMC police also arrested 22 other people who were directors or managers of the firms. The police found documents and electronic data indicating illegal lending, although they had licenses to operate as pawnshops and management consultants.

They alleged the same management and staff provided loans on websites such as senmo.vn, thantaioi.vn, and caydenthan.vn.

Data on 247 transactions the police seized showed the minimum interest rate was 183% annually, while the maximum was 2,555%.

The companies had earned VND442 million ($18,800) from illegal lending activities, their records showed.

Also related to foreign loan sharks, on June 17, HCMC police arrested Aigars Plivčs, a 38-year-old Latvian man, for operating three loansharking companies, illegally earning more than VND4 trillion ($169.9 million).