9 face punishment for spreading false info about Vingroup chairman

Lieutenant General To An Xo, the Ministry of Public Security’s spokesperson, told VnExpress on Monday afternoon that units under the ministry are probing the case.

The ministry has transferred the information of one of the nine, To Vi Hoan, a 38-year-old man in Hanoi, to the city’s Department of Information and Communication.

As identified by the ministry, Hoan had “spread false information related to Vingroup.”

What Hoan did had “affected the reputation, legitimate rights and interests of the company, and adversely affected the stock market,” it said.

Vingroup is Vietnam’s largest private company. Its chairman Vuong is currently the country’s richest man with a net worth of $5.4 billion, according to Forbes.

Earlier on Monday, Xo said police are investigating the source of a rumor on social media that the leader of an “influential” business had been prevented from traveling abroad, and asserted that the information is “inaccurate.”

Hanoi lawyer Nguyen Duc Thinh said people who, on social networks, provide or share false information, distort, slander, or insult an organization’s reputation, honor, and dignity of individuals or disseminate or share fabricated information that causes confusion among the public face a fine of VND10-20 million ($430-860).