Vietnam police arrest SEO firm director Pham Ngoc Manh and 17 others for illegal gambling website promotion

On 2 June 2026, Hanoi police, working with the national cyber‑security units, arrested Pham Ngoc Manh, director of the limited‑liability company Supermarket Seo Media Services, together with 17 managers and staff. The group was charged under Article 288 for “illegally providing computer and telecommunications information”. The company offered SEO and traffic‑boosting services, primarily to websites that operated illegal online gambling. Manh directed the creation of large numbers of backlinks and promotional content to raise the ranking of these gambling sites.

Investigators discovered that the operation used 41 cryptocurrency wallets to receive USDT payments and paid employees largely in cash. Police seized more than VND 7 billion in cash and crypto‑converted assets, a VND 3 billion savings account, 29 computers and 41 mobile phones. The scheme generated an estimated profit of VND 3.7 billion since early 2026. Authorities said the case serves as a warning against the misuse of SEO and advertising services to support illegal gambling and to protect cyber security.