The Great Ca Mau Live-Stream Smuggling Scandal: Exaggerated Revenue Claims for Bragging Rights

The Ca Mau Department of Justice has reported to the provincial People’s Committee on the results of the inspection of the fine imposed on Nguyen Mai Store, a household business specializing in online sales through livestreaming.

Previously, the Ca Mau Department of Market Management had proposed to the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee an administrative fine of VND 141 million for Nguyen Mai Store for trading in smuggled goods, goods of unknown origin, and counterfeit goods, including clothing, bags, cosmetics, and more. They also proposed the confiscation of nearly 18,600 items of various goods and the destruction of over 600 counterfeit items.

Notably, the Market Management authorities suggested that Nguyen Mai Store be required to pay back VND 3.7 billion in revenue earned from these illegal business activities since the beginning of 2023 until the time of detection.

On July 30, the Department of Justice worked with the owner of Nguyen Mai Store and representatives of the Market Management Department regarding the VND 3.7 billion in revenue.

The business owner explained that the VND 3.7 billion figure was exaggerated and inflated to boast and enhance their credibility in selling goods. In reality, the total revenue from the beginning of 2023 until the inspection was just over VND 2.3 billion. After deducting the costs of purchasing goods, employee salaries, advertising, transportation, and other expenses, the remaining profit was approximately VND 300 million.

However, the household business owner was unable to provide related financial documents to support these claims. Due to this new development, the Department of Justice requested the Market Management Department to further inspect, review, verify, and clarify the situation.

On August 2, the Market Management Department submitted a supplementary verification report, agreeing that there was a basis for considering VND 1.4 billion as non-revenue, as explained by Nguyen Mai Store.

Regarding the expenses and product invoices, Nguyen Mai Store only provided self-created documents, photocopies, and self-printed documents, none of which were original or bank-issued statements.

Given this, the Department of Justice suggested that if photocopied documents are used to prove the origin of the goods, it would mean that the business is operating with legitimate goods, which changes the nature of the violation. Therefore, the Market Management Department needs to thoroughly review and assess the legal validity of these documents.

Following the inspection, the Department of Justice proposed that the Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee refrain from issuing a fine decision against Nguyen Mai Store. Instead, they recommended returning the case file to the Market Management Department for further clarification of the legal validity of all documents and records provided by the business. They also suggested a review of the determination of the business’s violations to serve as the basis for the final decision.