VietNamNet Bridge – Any transaction over VND300 million (US$14,250) must be reported to the State Bank of Viet Nam under a recent decision that goes into effect June 10.

Signed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last Thursday, the decision applies to financial institutions and relevant organisations and individuals conducting non-financial business lines prescribed in Article 4 of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering. The Viet Nam Law on Anti-Money Laundering came into effect on January 1 this year.

The decision replaces Government Decree 74 dated 2005 which stipulated that any transaction worth over VND200 million must be reported to the Central Bank.

Under the new ruling, a financial organisation is an organisation licensed to carry out one or more of the following operations:

Receiving deposits

Making loans

Financial leasing

Payment services

Issuing instruments of assignment, credit cards, debit cards, money orders and electronic money
Banking guarantees and financial undertakings

Providing foreign exchange services and monetary instruments on the money market; consulting and guaranteeing securities insurance and agency of securities distributions.

Managing the investment capital portfolio and managing cash or securities for other organisations and individuals.

Providing insurance services and investment operations related to life insurance and money exchange.

Organisations and individuals doing business in the relevant non-financial sector are those carry out one or more of the following activities:

Doing business in games with prizes

Doing business in the sector of real estate management, the brokerage of real estate or the real estate trading floor.

Trading in precious metals and stones

Providing notary and accounting services or legal services

Providing investment trust services, establishing, managing and running an enterprise or serving as director and secretary of an enterprise.

Viet Nam became the 34th member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering in May 2007.

Source: VNS