Four foreign investors ask for arrest of Huy Nhat over fraud allegations
Huy Nhat, the owner of the once-famous Mon Hue restaurant chain, has been accused of cheating foreign investors out of US$100 million.
Four foreign investors through their representatives have request that Huy Nhat of Nha Hang Mon Hue Company Limited be prosecuted and barred from traveling overseas over cheating allegations.
| Huy Nhat, director of Horizon Property Group Company and former legal representative of Nha Hang Mon Hue Company. |
The four investors, Gifted Wisdom Limited (Gifted), Harvest Investment Advisory Co.,Ltd (Harvest), Fenghe Harvest Ltd (Fenghe) and MF Holding Inc, headquartered in China and Singapore, have sent petitions to Vietnamese authorities, asking for the arrest of Huy Nhat, director of Horizon Property Group Company and former legal representative of Nha Hang Mon Hue Company.
In the petitions, the foreign investors denounced that Huy Nhat had appropriated them US$25 million by cheating them to contribute capital investment to a 162-hectar resort project in at Lang Co, Phu Loc district, central province of Thua Thien-Hue.
The Investigative Police of the Ministry of Public Security in April initiated a criminal probe into the case "Fraudulent asset appropriation" at Horizon Property Group Company, but Huy Nhat is still at large.
They, therefore, insist that Huy Nhat be arrested because:
First, Huy Nhat not only fraudulently appropriated US$25 million from them, but Huy Nhat also cheated other foreign investors. Through Nha Hang Mon Hue Company, Nhat had allegedly appropriated more than US$70 million from investors Huy Vietnam (Hong Kong), ADV Partner, AIF Capital, F&H Fenghe, Fortress Investment, Gryphus Capital, Welkin Capital. These investors have currently denounced Huy Nhat's fraudulent acts, according to local media.
Second, these four investors said that Huy Nhat's cheating was detrimental as he took advantage of the foreign investors’ trust in Vietnam’s favorable policies to create sizable projects such as a real estate project in Lang Co, Hue, Nha Hang Mon Hue restaurant chain, in order to mobilize large amounts of money for appropriation.
According to these four foreign investors, Huy Nhat was sophisticatedly transferred money among the relevant parties via banks in Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States. Huy Nhat himself possesses Vietnamese and American nationalities with several valid IDs.
| Since October 2019, many outlets of the Mon Hue restaurant chain have been closed due to debts. Photo: Thanhnien.vn |
Third, although the criminal probe was initiated three months ago, the police has not probed against and temporarily detained Huy Nhat. Meanwhile, Huy Nhat has dispersed most of the appropriated assets by transferring properties to his family members, asked his accountant Nguyen Thi Hue Phuong to withdraw cash from the accounts of Horizon Vietnam, Mon Hue and then deposit it at Huy Nhat's personal accounts.
These 4 foreign investors believe that Huy Nhat will continue to transfer the assets while being at large. They event believe that Huy Nhat’s escape from Vietnam is just a matter of time as he has appropriated US$100 million from foreign investors.
Representatives of the four foreign investors said that: "We are experienced investors in many countries, but this is the first time we are cheated by Huy Nhat - a Vietnamese partner with a big investment amount. It is like a heavy 'knock-out' coup making us suffer from serious material and spiritual losses, our trust is shaken and we consider the loss at the Lang Co Hue project a case for reference when deciding to invest in Vietnam later".
