Hoang Duy Tien faces prosecution for overseeing the smuggling of goods worth VND211 billion ($8.9 million) when he was an officer with the HCMC economic police division.
HCMC police have completed their investigation and proposed the prosecution of Tien and 25 accomplices for smuggling.
Under current policy, companies are allowed to import second-hand equipment and machines that have been used for less than 10 years for their own production.
Investigators say that Tien, 37, set up 47 companies to import equipment and machines that had been used for more than 10 years at lower prices, then sold them to others for profit.
He asked his subordinates to change the usage duration of the items on import documents and make fake documents to ensure they meet import conditions.
Tien collaborated with DMV Control Corporation, an appraisal firm, to forge documents to submit to customs authorities.
Between September 2019 and May 2021, Tien utilized 45 firms to file 1,146 customs declarations, smuggling 1,280 containers to Vietnam. He was arrested last year after seven containers of old machines were seized at the Cat Lai port in Thu Duc City, HCMC.
The DMV Control Corporation is being investigated for suspected tax evasion.
Authorities busted 54,199 cases of smuggling, trade of banned goods, trade frauds, and tax frauds in the first half of the year, down 25% year-on-year, according to the National Steering Committee for Tackling Smuggling, Trade Fraud and Fake Goods.
They collected fines of VND3,728 billion ($157 million) for various violations. The steering committee attributed the decrease in violations caught to Covid-19 precautions.