Hanoi Police’s Economic Security Division has identified a group of individuals who were hired to queue and purchase gold from state-owned commercial banks, only to resell it to gold trading businesses.
Long queues for gold bars at Vietinbank in Hanoi. Photo: Minh Chien
Previously, on June 7, the State Bank of Vietnam requested the Hanoi Police to investigate the spread of information claiming that banks were running out of gold. It was suspected that certain individuals were hiring people to queue and buy gold at various gold-selling points, with the aim of pushing up prices, profiting from the price difference, and causing instability in the market, ultimately harming the economy.
Along with this, the State Bank proposed coordinated solutions to ensure security at gold-selling locations of state-owned commercial banks and the Saigon Jewelry Company Limited (SJC). This was done to prevent malicious elements from hiring people to queue and buy gold in bulk, causing public disorder.
During their investigation, the Hanoi Police’s Economic Security Division discovered that a number of individuals appeared to be hiring people to queue and purchase gold at certain branches of Vietcombank, Agribank, and BIDV, which were authorized to sell gold to stabilize the market. There were approximately 4-5 separate groups, each with a central figure who would collect the gold after the suspected hired individuals completed their transactions with the bank.
These groups operated by transferring funds to group members in advance. Once they secured a spot in the queue, they would wait for their turn to transact with the bank. After receiving the gold, they would converge and hand it over to the central figure. Some individuals would then move on to other locations to continue queuing for gold. By tracking the movements of these central figures, the investigators identified local gold trading businesses as their final destination.
A notable example is B.T.T.H Gold and Silver Trading Store in Nhan Chinh Ward, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi, owned by Ms. D.T.T. Four individuals linked to this store were found to have queued and collectively purchased 14 taels of SJC gold from state-owned commercial banks.
On June 17, the Economic Security Division of Hanoi Police, in collaboration with the Hanoi Market Management Department, formed three task forces to inspect gold-buying and selling activities among organizations and individuals in Hanoi.
During the inspection of B.T.T.H Store, the authorities discovered that Ms. T’s husband was in the process of purchasing 1 tael of SJC gold from an individual at a price of VND 81 million per tael, paid via bank transfer, without any invoices or receipts. Notably, B.T.T.H Store is not authorized to trade SJC gold bars.
At the time of the inspection, the store could not produce invoices or receipts for a number of gold jewelry items on display. As a result, the inspection team seized 1 tael of SJC gold, 232 gold rings, and 48 white gold rings as evidence of administrative violations.
Meanwhile, Task Force 3 inspected T.L. Gold Trading Co., Ltd. on Ha Trung Street and found the company purchasing 1 tael of SJC gold from an individual at a price of VND 81 million per tael, also paid via bank transfer. The inspection team took similar action and seized the gold as evidence.
“The fact that gold was being purchased at a higher price than the bank’s selling price indicates that gold shop owners are willing to pay a premium to acquire SJC gold bars, which runs counter to the State Bank’s market stabilization efforts,” said Lieutenant Nguyen Dac Tai, Head of the Monetary Security Team, Economic Security Division.
According to the Economic Security Division, most of these establishments are not licensed to trade SJC gold bars or foreign currencies. However, they are always ready to purchase SJC gold bars at a premium for stockpiling, only to resell them at even higher prices, causing instability in the gold market.
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