Authorities in Hanoi have uncovered illicit activities involving the purchase and resale of gold bullion without proper permits, a report from the Ministry of Public Security revealed on Sunday.
Multiple groups were hired recently to queue at several banks including Vietcombank, Agribank, and BIDV to purchase gold bars. These groups, acting on behalf of a jewelry store in Thanh Xuan District, bought a total of 14 gold bars from the banks. The jewelry store, however, lacks the necessary license to sell gold and was found to have acquired the bullion through proxies.
The investigation further revealed that the store had also purchased bullion without proper invoices from individuals and was unable to provide receipts for some of the jewelry it sold. As a result of the probe, authorities seized one tael of gold, along with 232 gold rings and 48 other metal rings.
Nguyen Dac Tai, head of the currency security task force at the Hanoi Economic Security Police, noted that several stores engage in buying gold at lower prices from state-owned banks and reselling them at a profit, despite regulations aimed at stabilizing gold prices set by the State Bank of Vietnam. Many of these operations are conducted without the requisite permits.
Earlier in June, the central bank intervened by selling bullion through state-owned banks at rates 1.2% below prevailing market prices, in an effort to narrow the gap between domestic and global gold prices, which had widened to 23% at one point. Notably, only individuals, not businesses, were permitted to participate in these transactions.
Gold prices have remained steady at approximately VND76.98 million per tael of 37.5 grams over the past fortnight.
This investigation underscores ongoing efforts by authorities to curb unauthorized trading practices and ensure compliance with regulatory standards in the gold market.
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