HCMC – The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has announced the results of inspections into six companies and banks involved in gold trading, with each fined between VND380 million and VND2.64 billion.
SJC, Doji, PNJ, Bao Tin Minh Chau, Eximbank and TPBank were found to have violated regulations on invoicing, anti-money laundering, and were accused of providing misleading information about their businesses and products to lure customers from competitors.
Each firm and bank also faced individual violations, with administrative fines varying accordingly.
Doji was found to have violated reporting requirements for gold bar transactions, conducted certain gold sales at prices higher than listed rates, and engaged in other gold-related business activities without proper authorization from relevant authorities.
The company also violated e-commerce regulations by using digital technology for gold trading.
Several individuals sold unusually large quantities of gold material to Doji. Inspectors also found instances where companies (other than Doji) used individuals to sell gold material to gold trading firms, possibly to avoid issuing invoices, evade tax declarations, and conceal the origin of gold. These practices led to the domestic gold market becoming volatile.
Therefore, SBV has imposed an administrative fine of VND1.365 billion on Doji.
At SJC, customer verification results indicated signs of violations of tax regulations. Gold buying and selling prices were set solely by the general director without clear criteria or references, creating risks in price determination that affected both the company’s operations and the broader gold market.
For these violations, the company was fined VND2.14 billion.
Bao Tin Minh Chau received the highest administrative fine, totaling VND2.64 billion, for selling gold at prices higher than listed rates and breaches of e-commerce regulations.
PNJ was found to have violated reporting requirements for gold bar trading, failed to comply with labeling regulations for jewelry and fine art gold products, and showed signs of tax-related violations, as well as anti-money laundering rules.
The firm got an administrative fine of VND 1.34 billion.
TPBank violated regulations by accepting SJC gold bars for custody without sealing the assets or recording their serial numbers.
Moreover, several individual customers conducted frequent gold bar transactions with TPBank, making multiple purchases and sales daily and monthly, with annual trading volumes reaching trillions of Vietnam dong, indicating that the transactions were for commercial purposes.
Consequently, TPBank was fined VND380 million for administrative violations.
At Eximbank, inspectors concluded that staff shortened procedures for counting, delivering, and receiving gold and cash, enabling customers to conduct gold bar transactions of the same quantity at the same time without actual delivery of gold or cash. Instead, they only settled the price difference to earn profit.
The bank was fined VND400 million for violating anti-money laundering regulations.
