Top bank fined for ATM tax fraud

The decision, signed by Nguyen Khanh Quang, deputy head of GDC’s Anti-Smuggling Investigation Department, states the bank was implicated over the import of seven consignments of automatic teller machines from Singapore between January 2004 and May 2005.
An official from the GDC who declined to be identified said that the bank was accused of wrongly declaring the import price of the ATMs and has committed trade fraud.
The GDC said that when customs officers found forged signatures and other fraudulent activities over the ATM imports, they requested Vietcombank present documentation for further investigation.
The information released by the bank did not match figures shown in the documents presented to customs. The signature of the seller, Gemplus Company, represented by Teng Kuen Ma, was discovered as a forgery.
The violations have been acknowledged by Do Tu Anh, head of the Vietcombank Card Development Centre. The bank was also accused of refusing to cooperate with investigators, as it did not show original copies of purchasing contracts.
As a result, Vietcombank will have to pay VND4m ($260) for not providing necessary documents, and another VND15m($940) for importing products different to those listed in the documents.
GDC has released a decision, under which the Hanoi Taxation Agency will redefine the taxable prices and the total tax the bank will have to pay. A source said that the total tax arrears Vietcombank will have to pay may reach VND500m ($3,200).
Vietcombank is one of the four biggest state-owned banks in Vietnam and it recently succeeded in issuing corporate bonds worth more than VND1,000 billion ($66,000) to increase its chartered capital.
GDC said that the violation case has raised the alarm bells for the ever-increasing frauds by large enterprises, especially tax falsification on imported commodities via aviation and post offices.


No. 758/April 24-30, 2006