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The two firms in investigation are Cashwagon Co. Ltd and Lendtech Co. Ltd, operating at 17-19 Ton That Tung Street in District 1. They are being investigated in accordance with the Penal Code for “providing loans in civil transactions at unreasonably high interest rates.”
According to the police, the two firms are actually one firm operated by Singporean group Cashwagon Pte. Ltd. On paper, Lendtech operates in the business of pawning and offering loans to individual customers, while Cashwagon is an online financial consultant.
Cashwagon receives and appraises loan documents via its website or mobile apps and approves loans of between VND500,000 and VND10 million ($21-429) for individual customers at monthly interest rates of 22-44 percent, depending on the term of the loan. Commercial banks in Vietnam give out loans at approximately 7 to 28 percent interest per annum. The borrowers’ files are then transferred to Lendtech Co. Ltd, which will give out the loans, Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang, 34, CEO of Cashwagon in Vietnam, told the police.
Police have seized the bank accounts of both companies and asked the bank to provide transaction statements to facilitate the investigation. Microfinance institutions should be careful before considering to cooperate with firms which work through online platforms, just in case the worst situation might happen.
Read more at: https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/hcmc-police-probe-singapore-firm-for-usury-4111078.html