Bao Tin Minh Chau Responds to Prosecution News Involving Founder and Son Vũ Minh Châu

Following information about the indictment in the case titled “Violation of accounting regulations causing serious consequences,” Bao Tin Minh Chau Co., Ltd. issued an official notice on 6 April stating that it is “cooperating strictly” and has provided full documents to competent authorities as requested. The company said its operations are currently “normal and uninterrupted,” and that it has recently restructured its governance to be independent, transparent and professional. The company also noted that since October 2024, Ms. Pham Lan Anh has served as Director and legal representative.

The company emphasized that all financial obligations and the rights of customers and partners remain fully guaranteed under applicable regulations. It also stated that its gold and jewelry products meet standards for gold content, weight and quality. Bao Tin Minh Chau said it will await the authorities’ official conclusions and committed to remedy and strictly comply with the law in the future, adding an apology for concerns raised and expressing hope to continue earning the trust of customers, partners and the media.

Hanoi Police press conference and case details

On the afternoon of 6 April, Hanoi Police held a press conference summarizing security and order in the first three months of 2026. Among the updates, officials disclosed information related to the case “Violation of accounting regulations causing serious consequences,” involving Bao Tin Minh Chau Co., Ltd., a company based in Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi. Hanoi Police described the case as one of the notable matters related to financial activities in the gold trading sector.

At the conference, Hanoi Police said they had indicted the case and four suspects for the offense. Based on documents collected, the Hanoi Police Investigation Agency preliminarily determined the following:

Alleged accounting and tax-related actions

• Before 2024, Vu Minh Chau and his son, Vu Minh Tu (Head of the Independent Assistant), directed staff in the accounting department to use two software systems to manage and declare taxes: Hivi Gold, Hivi Gold Pro and Excel to monitor actual business activities; and Misa accounting software to declare taxes.
• From the latter half of 2024 to the present, to “avoid scrutiny by authorities,” Mr. Chau allegedly directed the deletion of all data on the Hivi Gold and Hivi Gold Pro systems, and switched to using the Excel-based system together with Fox AI sales software. Hanoi Police said that “the buying and selling of goods and data were filtered, checked, and compiled by the accounting department before being uploaded to the Misa accounting software to declare taxes.”

Preliminary figures from extracted data (2020–2023)

From data extracted for 2020–2023 on the company’s Hivi software, initial investigators determined that the company’s actual revenue from 2020 to 2023 was about 13,700 billion dong, while the discrepancy with tax declarations was estimated at 9,700 billion dong. The alleged activity is said to have caused damage to the state budget of about 150 billion dong.

Search results

Investigators reported that searches at residences, workplaces and other relevant locations yielded 23.3 billion dong in cash, seven land-use certificates, along with numerous documents, tools, and a large quantity of gold and silver metals.

Indictment issued on 2 April 2026

On 02/04/2026, the Investigation Department of Hanoi Police issued indictments against Vu Minh Chau, Vu Minh Tu, and two accounting staff for the offense “Violation of accounting regulations causing serious consequences.”

Next steps

Hanoi Police said investigators are continuing to expand the case, clarify violations, and pursue appropriate actions under the law.