HCMC – Vu Minh Chau, founder of Bao Tin Minh Chau, a well-known Vietnamese jewelry firm, has been charged with violating accounting regulations in business operations.
Hanoi police briefed on a case involving Bao Tin Minh Chau Company Limited at a press briefing on the security and public order situation and first-quarter results.
Chau, his son Vu Minh Tu, head of the independent assistants unit, and two female accountants were charged on April 2 with violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences.
Prior to 2024, Chau and Tu directed the accounting department to use two software systems to manage operations and tax filings. The company used Hivi Gold, Hivi Gold Pro and Excel to track actual business activities, while Misa accounting software was used for filing taxes.
From the second half of 2024, Chau allegedly ordered the deletion of all data on Hivi Gold and Hivi Gold Pro, shifting to Excel and Fox AI sales software to evade inspections.
Data from these systems was filtered and consolidated by the accounting unit before being entered into Misa for tax reporting.
Based on data extracted from the Hivi software for 2020–2023, investigators initially determined that Bao Tin Minh Chau recorded actual revenue of about VND13.7 trillion during the period, with an estimated discrepancy of VND9.7 trillion compared to its tax filings.
The alleged violations are believed to have caused losses to the state budget of around VND150 billion.
On the afternoon of March 25, police were deployed to Bao Tin Minh Chau jewelry stores at 15 and 29 Tran Nhan Tong Street in Hai Ba Trung Ward, and 139 Cau Giay Street in Cau Giay Ward.
After more than four hours, sealed boxes of documents were removed from the Tran Nhan Tong locations and loaded onto waiting vehicles.
Bao Tin Minh Chau, one of Hanoi’s major gold brands, was founded by Vu Minh Chau in 1995 and now operates four outlets in the capital and more than 200 agents nationwide.
