Hanoi gangs hire locals to circumvent gold price stabilization scheme: police

Police in Hanoi have uncovered a scam involving several gangs hiring local people to queue up to buy gold bars at state-owned commercial banks and then reselling them to gold traders at higher prices.

The initial investigation found that four or five separate gangs had recruited local residents to queue up at branches of Vietcombank, Agribank and BIDV to buy gold bullion under the State Bank of Vietnam’s (SBV) price stabilization scheme.

Each gang had a person responsible for collecting the gold after seemingly legitimate transactions had been made.

The gang transferred money in advance to the recruits, who waited for their turns to buy gold from several bank branches.

Tracking the movements of the gang leaders, the investigators determined their destinations were jewelry businesses.

On June 17, Hanoi Police's Economic Security Department coordinated with the Hanoi Market Management Department to establish three working teams to inspect compliance with legal regulations on gold trading activities by businesses in the city.

During the inspection, police found that these businesses had been buying gold bars at higher prices than those offered by the banks, without issuing invoices or documents.

“This shows that gold businesses attempted to buy SJC gold bars under the price stabilization scheme at higher prices, going against the government and the SBV’s policy to stabilize the gold market," said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Dac Tai from the Economic Security Department.

Many establishments failed to show a permit to trade SJC gold bars and foreign currencies, but were ready to buy SJC gold bars at high prices to hoard and then sell them on for a profit, causing instability in the gold market.

The Economic Security Department said that it will continue to keep a close watch on the gold market and coordinate with the SBV and the Market Management Department to inspect gold and foreign exchange transaction points in the city.

It will also give reality-based forecasts and make recommendations to stabilize the gold market.