Property centres brought to account

Sixty-two property transaction centres in Hanoi and 66 such in Ho Chi Minh City were put under Ministry of Construction’s (MoC) inspector microscope in the first six months of 2011.

The MoC inspectors produced 20 punishment decisions with total fines of VND1.6 billion ($78,000). Fines ranged from VND50 million ($2,400) to VND210 million ($10,000).

Many centres did not have sufficient qualified brokerage staff or property project developers made false declarations about ownership capital for project implementation and did not sell products through property centres.

Some centres even illegally appropriated customers’ assets.

For instance, in early July 2011, Hanoi police arrested Galaxy BSG Vietnam International chairman Nguyen Huu Trong for creating a bogus real estate project to cheat customers. The swindled amount came to millions of dollars.

Earlier in June 2011, general director of Urban Infrastructure Development Investment Company (UDIC) property transaction centre Truong Chien Binh was arrested as he was alleged to abuse position for illicit assets appropriation.

UDIC’s deputy general director, the cashier and one staff of UDIC’s property centre were also arrested.

The police later discovered the violators had increased the selling prices of seven apartments under a UDIC housing project including 12 apartments and appropriated the balance which amounted to around VND30 billion ($1.46 million). 

Industry experts assumed current sanctions towards property violators were ‘too’ light as fine amounts ranged from several thousands to over a dozen thousand dollars, not corresponding to violators’ marginal profits.

“The recent inspection was to timely unveil violations. Serious cases were tackled in light of current regulations,” said MOC Deputy Minister Nguyen Tran Nam.

According to MoC chief inspector Pham Gia Yen, from now until the year’s end MoC’s inspectors would scale-up spot checks at property transaction centres.