Vietnam News

Australian CEO arrested in Vietnam for $5M loan fraud

19 octobre 2025
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An Australian businessman who headed a major Vietnamese petroleum company has been arrested for allegedly fabricating billion-dollar funding deals to swindle millions in fees.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security on Oct. 18 said it had detained Ranjit Prithviraj Thambyrajah, 65, the General Director of Nam Song Hau Petroleum (NSH Petro), on charges of fraudulent appropriation of assets.

Investigators allege that Thambyrajah, posing as the head of Australia-based Acuity Funding, falsely claimed he could arrange loans worth hundreds of millions to billions of U.S. dollars for Vietnamese firms. Authorities said he collected nearly US$5 million in « service fees » from companies before failing to deliver any financing.

In February 2024, Thambyrajah signed an agreement promising to lend $720 million to NSH Petro for eight projects, including oil and gas plants in Hau Giang, Tien Giang and Can Tho.

He was later appointed as the company’s CEO, but the deal never materialized, leading the firm to report him to police.

Founded in 2012, NSH Petro operates around 70 fuel stations and 550 agents across Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. Once regarded as a powerful regional energy firm, the company is now struggling with a financial crisis and has set an ambitious 2025 revenue target of VND14.5 trillion ($580 million) to recover.

By An Binh – VnExpress.net – October 18, 2025

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