Huy Thanh Jewelry fined after regulator finds licensing, tax and anti-money laundering breaches

State Bank Inspectorate, Region I, has just published an ex officio inspection conclusion on Huy Thanh Jewelry Co., Ltd. (Huy Thanh Jewelry), pointing out several shortcomings and limitations in the company's operations. The inspectorate issued an administrative penalty decision against this enterprise. According to the conclusion, the inspectorate found that Huy Thanh Jewelry did not fully follow the procedures to amend the certificate of eligibility for producing gold jewelry when there were changes to the production location. This is a mandatory requirement to ensure the regulator has accurate information about the company's production activities. The reported data on the company's gold jewelry production activity was found to be inaccurate. In anti-money laundering, the company was found to have submitted large-value transaction reports not on time; the sending of internal regulations and notices of changes in the contact person responsible for anti-money laundering to the Anti-Money Laundering Department did not meet time requirements. [Caption: A gold shop of Huy Thanh Jewelry.] Notably, the audit conclusion states the company declared incorrectly, resulting in underpayment of corporate income tax. Huy Thanh Jewelry did not submit Appendix I as required. These are violations related to tax obligations and may be processed under tax administration law. Based on these violations, the Chief Inspector of the State Bank of Vietnam, Region I, issued an administrative penalty decision against Huy Thanh Jewelry in the field of monetary and banking operations. The penalties include: not reporting on time as required under anti-money laundering regulations and submitting inaccurate reporting data more than once in a financial year. Currently the inspectorate has transferred the enterprise's administrative violation file to the Hanoi Tax Department for review and handling under its authority. Huy Thanh Jewelry must rectify the shortcomings and limitations identified. Huy Thanh Jewelry was established in 2006, with charter capital of nearly VND 457 billion. The company has its headquarters on Do Doi Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, and a wide network with 17 locations in the North, 7 in the Central region, and 12 in the South. The inspection's conclusion shows that while no signs of market disruption were detected, full compliance with reporting, taxation, and anti-money laundering regulations remains mandatory for gold trading enterprises. This also provides a basis for regulators to continue tightening discipline, contributing to transparency and market stability. Regarding this inspection conclusion, today (April 10), Huy Thanh Jewelry issued a response. On the remaining issues, the company affirmed that it has fully complied with the report submission to the State Bank Region I on time according to regulations, and it sincerely absorbs the inspectors' opinions. “We are currently urgently reviewing and thoroughly remedying the remaining issues to improve governance processes, ensure effective operation, and strictly comply with the law,” a company representative said. Huy Thanh Jewelry also affirmed that the company's business activities continue normally and are not affected by the inspection conclusion. In 2025, the State Bank's inspection also audited companies such as PNJ, SJC... related to gold business activities. The State Bank also transferred information about signs of violations of criminal law relating to the use of invoices, accounting vouchers, and taxes to the Ministry of Public Security for verification, investigation, and handling as prescribed. On April 6, Hanoi Police announced the indictment of Mr. Vu Minh Chau, former director of Bao Tin Minh Chau Co., Ltd.; Mr. Vu Minh Tu, Head of Independent Assistant Team; and a number of company employees. According to investigators, these individuals are accused of directing the use of two accounting software systems and deleting data from late 2024 to present. From the data extracted for 2020-2023, the company's actual revenue was determined at about VND 13.7 trillion, a discrepancy of about VND 9.7 trillion compared to tax-reported figures, causing a state budget loss of about VND 150 billion."