Following the Prime Minister’s directive, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh has assigned the Government Inspectorate to lead an urgent inspection, in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Public Security, and the SBV. The inspection team was formed on September 9.

The team will evaluate the compliance of credit institutions and businesses in gold trading, anti-money laundering practices, and the issuance and use of invoices and documents related to this activity. The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that any signs of criminal activity must be immediately reported to the police and the results must be submitted to the Prime Minister within September.

Previously, an inspection report published by the SBV at the end of May 2025 revealed that entities such as SJC, PNJ, Bao Tin Minh Chau, and TPBank had committed several violations.

SJC, for example, was found to have violated reporting requirements on gold bullion trading. The company also allegedly provided misleading product information to attract customers from competitors, which could be considered unfair competition.

Customer verification results also revealed signs of SJC’s violations of tax regulations. Based on legal provisions, the SBV forwarded this information to the relevant authorities for review and legal action.

Of particular note, SBV inspectors stated that although there is no basis to conclude that the price hikes between October 2, 2023, and April 15, 2024, were unreasonable, at SJC, both buying and selling prices were solely determined by the company’s general director. The pricing decisions were made without any internal regulations, criteria, or documented pricing procedures, and with no delineation of responsibilities among departments involved in advising on prices.

The inspection concluded that having a single individual decide the buying and selling prices without transparent criteria poses risks not only to SJC’s operations but also to the gold market, given SJC’s significant market share.

PNJ and Bao Tin Minh Chau were also highlighted for multiple violations.

According to the inspection, PNJ failed to comply with reporting obligations related to gold bullion trading and also released misleading product information that could lead to unfair competition. Additionally, PNJ was suspected of violating regulations regarding labeling of gold jewelry and fine art items.

Investigations revealed signs of tax violations by PNJ. The SBV has transferred this information to the competent authorities for further action.

SBV inspectors noted that Bao Tin Minh Chau improperly recorded gift expenses as part of the cost of goods sold, thereby reducing the amount of value-added tax owed.

Following direct inspections, the SBV reported several legal and potentially criminal violations by Bao Tin Minh Chau to the Governor, who approved the transfer of relevant information to the Ministry of Public Security for investigation and prosecution.

In addition to these companies, the SBV also identified gold trading violations at various banks.

TPBank violated reporting requirements for gold bullion trading and failed to follow proper procedures when receiving SJC gold bars for safekeeping, including not sealing the gold or recording serial numbers. The bank was also accused of disseminating misleading information that could be deemed unfair competition.

Moreover, TPBank failed to fully report suspicious transactions linked to money laundering and terrorist financing, violating anti-money laundering regulations.

Notably, during the inspection period, certain individuals engaged in frequent gold bullion trading at TPBank, conducting transactions worth trillions of Vietnamese dong annually (equivalent to hundreds of millions of USD) with clear business intent.

After the direct inspections, the SBV reported several findings at TPBank involving legal violations. The Governor subsequently approved the transfer of relevant documents to the Ministry of Public Security for investigation.

The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security responded to the SBV’s official dispatch, assigning the tax authorities (formerly the General Department of Taxation, now the Tax Department) to lead the assessment and legal handling of these cases.

The Chief Inspector of the SBV issued an administrative penalty decision against TPBank for multiple violations, including failures in anti-money laundering procedures, gold bullion trading reports, and daily gold position statements. The bank was also fined for failing to seal and record serial numbers of gold held in custody for customers. The total fine amounted to approximately 380 million VND (about 15,600 USD).

The SBV inspection also mandated the immediate cessation of gold jewelry trading activities by any entity not licensed by the SBV.

Tuong Nguyen