Vietnam Warns Against Renting Out Bank Accounts; Fines Can Reach 100 Million Dong
Vietnamese police say some students opened and rented out multiple bank accounts for payment, and the accounts were used to move illicit funds for online gambling networks. Under rules effective February 9, 2026, renting or lending 10 or more accounts can carry a fine of 75 million to 100 million Vietnamese dong if the conduct does not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution.
Vietnamese police say some people have used offers of part-time pay to recruit students to open and rent out bank accounts and hand over their bank cards, login details and phone numbers registered with their banks. Some students also verified transfers as instructed, making their accounts part of online gambling networks’ movement of illicit funds.
According to police, some students received about 5 million Vietnamese dong per month for each bank account they rented out. A third-year university student in Hanoi opened 14 accounts; another female student opened eight accounts and served as the nominal head of two companies set up for the network’s activities. The report did not specify when these cases occurred.
Lương Công Thành, head of information technology at GPBank, warned people against selling, renting out or lending their bank accounts, or giving others their bank cards, phone SIM cards, passwords, one-time passcodes or authority to verify transactions. He urged caution over offers that require people only to open an account, receive money and transfer it onward for a commission, or to serve as the nominal head of a company without knowing its business activities or the source of its funds.
Lương Công Thành said anyone who has already handed over an account or transferred money at someone else’s request should stop the transactions, contact their bank and report the matter to police. They should also keep chat records, contact details and transaction data.
Under Clause 5, Article 8 of Vietnam’s Decree No. 52/2024/NĐ-CP, renting out or lending payment accounts is prohibited. From February 9, 2026, Decree No. 340 provides for fines of 50 million to 75 million Vietnamese dong for renting out or lending one to fewer than 10 accounts, and 75 million to 100 million dong for 10 or more accounts, if the conduct does not meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. Depending on the nature and severity of the violation and the person’s role, those who rent out accounts may also face criminal prosecution.
Source: VietVance
