How is gold smuggled?
According to the initial investigation, from 2022 to present, defendant Nguyen Thi Hoa (residing in Lao Bao town, Huong Hoa district, Quang Tri province) and defendant Nguyen Thi Gai organized a smuggling ring of over 3 tons of gold, with a total value of about 5,000 billion VND.
Gold was transported from Laos through Lao Bao border gate (Quang Tri province) to sell to domestic stores for illegal profits.
Phu Quy Gold Investment JSC is considered a link in the smuggling ring. This company declared and reported dishonestly on its 2021 tax settlement. Phu Quy committed tax evasion, causing damage to the State, initially determined to be 6,145 billion VND.
According to Tuoi Tre, this is an “intra-family” network, as almost all of the people prosecuted are related to each other. The gold smuggling of this “extended family” has been going on for quite a while, but has only now been caught by the authorities.
Gold smuggling is carried out because Quang Tri province borders Laos, with many routes that can easily cross the border between the two countries.
The subjects hired people to transport and smuggle gold from Laos to Vietnam for consumption and were paid according to the amount of gold transferred. After arriving in Vietnam, the gold would be sold to a number of domestic gold shops.
How does Phu Quy Gold do business?
Phu Quy Gold Investment JSC was established in 2003, headquartered in Hanoi. Its main business activities are manufacturing and distributing gold, silver, jewelry, diamonds, and wedding rings.
Phu Quy Gold has been operating for more than two decades and is one of the largest gold and silver stores in Vietnam, present in the largest gold trading centers at Tran Nhan Tong (Hanoi) and Ham Nghi (HCMC).
Not only distributing and retailing SJC gold bars and 999.9 plain rings, Phu Quy also invests and develops 24K gold art products, gold jewelry, diamonds, and wedding rings. Phu Quy also introduces itself as a gold bar trading center licensed by the State Bank.
In addition, Phu Quy is also in the Top 500 largest enterprises in Vietnam. However, this enterprise does not disclose its revenue and profit.
The gold smuggling case with a volume of up to 3 tons (about 5,000 billion VND) is considered serious not only because of the loss of tax revenue but also affects the economic management order, foreign trade management regime and tax management of the State. In recent years, the situation of gold smuggling has occurred quite a lot due to the difference in domestic and international gold prices.
Gold is not only smuggled from Laos but also via air from several other countries, including South Korea, with the help of pilots and flight attendants from domestic airlines (like in 2016).
At many times, the difference between the world gold price converted to the bank's USD price of about 10-20 million VND/tael compared to the domestic gold price is a lucrative condition, bringing super profits to those who trade and import smuggled gold.
Specifically, the world gold price at 9am on June 26 stood at 1,925 USD/ounce. World gold converted to the bank USD price is 55.4 million VND/tael, including taxes and fees, about 11.6 million VND/tael lower than the domestic gold price.
If the 3 tons of smuggled gold had been successfully sold in the domestic market, with a profit difference of 11 million VND, the smugglers and legalizers of this smuggled gold could have earned illegal profits of up to thousands of billions of VND.
According to the World Gold Council, at many times, gold bars imported into Vietnam have a very large value, higher than statistics from domestic agencies. There are years when the State Bank does not grant licenses to any company to import gold. Therefore, gold can enter Vietnam in two ways. First, the State Bank allows commercial banks to buy foreign status and second, smuggled gold bars.
Gold smuggling into Vietnam can cause many impacts, including the exchange rate. The economy's demand for official foreign currency has been quite stable for many years, foreign currency reserves have increased sharply, but the exchange rate still fluctuates from time to time.
According to the Ministry of Public Security, Le Xuan Tung, Chairman and General Director of Phu Quy Gold Investment JSC and Le Thuy Quynh were prosecuted for tax evasion, according to Clause 3, Article 200 of the Penal Code. Specifically, Le Xuan Tung was accused of tax evasion in a smuggling ring of 3 tons of gold from Laos to Vietnam. Phu Quy Gold Company declared and reported dishonestly on its 2021 tax settlement, causing a loss to the State of more than 6.1 billion VND. Nguyen Thi Hoa (Quang Tri) and Nguyen Thi Gai, along with 16 others, were prosecuted for smuggling, according to Clause 4, Article 188 of the Penal Code. In addition, there are a number of other defendants involved in this ring. Currently, the Investigation Police Agency of the Ministry of Public Security is consolidating documents and evidence to prove the criminal acts of the accused who have been prosecuted and expanding the investigation of the case; reviewing, seizing, and freezing the assets of the subjects to ensure recovery for the State. |
Currently, gold smuggling in some southwestern border provinces is flourishing with many sophisticated forms, making prevention increasingly difficult.
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