Lesson 2: The miracle of the “Special Foreign Currency Fund” – B29

Using publicity as a cover for secret activities

Going back in history to 1965, in order to provide timely logistics for the battlefield, the Politburo decided to establish a Special Foreign Currency Fund with the code name B29, acting as a "special foreign exchange bank", supplying the southern battlefield. B29 was staffed with 14 officers. The person directly in charge was Mr. Mai Huu Ich (Bay Ich), who was then Deputy Director of the Foreign Exchange Department and also a member of the Southern Aid Committee. To undertake the responsibility of performing tasks in the operation of the Special Foreign Currency Fund, the core staff selected were all capable people, with professional qualifications and expertise in finance and banking, fluent in foreign languages, with practical experience, and the ability to analyze and synthesize. Many comrades were well-trained in countries such as the Soviet Union, China, France, etc.

Mr. Mai Huu Ich - organizer of AM road (cash transfer) - Photo archive

In the North, B29 was located at the headquarters of the State Bank. In the South, the Special Finance Department under the Central Office for Southern Vietnam with code N2683 was the focal point for receiving, then organizing storage and transportation to the regions and provinces throughout the South to serve the resistance.

The "Special Foreign Currency Fund" is codenamed B29. The operation of this fund has a special feature: "Using the public as a cover for the secret, all activities of the secret are in the name of the public".

B29 has the name of a Foreign Exchange Bureau (to carry out procedures when necessary) but with the special secret nature of its work, B29 is like a "currency army", following the principles of intelligence operations, under the direction and reporting to superiors.

Aid funds from socialist countries and international friends included many types such as US dollars, Hong Kong dollars, French francs, British pounds... which were collected by B29, then deposited into an account at Vietcombank and then sent to banks in Hong Kong, France and some large, reliable international banks. The money conversion was mainly done in Hong Kong with the professional support of Vietcombank and Bank of China. Once converted into US dollars in cash, B29 was responsible for bringing the money from Hong Kong to Hanoi, packaging and storing it in its own warehouse at the National Bank, awaiting orders to transport it to the South under the direction of the Aid Committee. With such great historical significance, members of the B29 Committee had to operate secretly.

Shipping costs are not missing a penny.

Former Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Le Van Chau, former officer of the B29 Special Foreign Currency Fund, shared that under the direct direction of the Politburo and the Central Office for the South with the code name B29 (Central), C32 (the treasury department of the Economic and Financial Department under the Central Office) and B6 (Special Financial Department with the codes: B68, D270, N2683...) overcame all difficulties, hardships, and dangers in the midst of bombs and bullets as well as the strict control of the enemy to support the battlefield.

From the very primitive and costly cash transportation method (AM), the bank officers and soldiers later switched to the money transfer method (FM), which helped reduce the time for money transportation from the special fund in Hanoi to the South from 30 days to 6 days and then only 30 minutes. In addition, there was also a secret "line" that was responsible for exchanging foreign currency and receiving aid from international friends.

After 10 years of service, by April 1975, the officers and soldiers of the Banking sector had transported to support the Southern battlefield about 1 billion USD, billions of Saigon money and hundreds of millions of Cambodian money, Lao Kip, Thai Baht... All of that aid was transported, safely preserved, and distributed according to regulations, without a single cent missing.

Mr. Mai Huu Ich (near) and Mr. Lu Minh Chau during the period when units B.29 and N.2683 started to coordinate the transportation of money using the FM method in 1966 (photo taken from documents of unit N.2683)

Mr. Le Hoang, former Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam and member of the B29 Committee, also said that to bring money to the battlefield, it had to be transported by land along the Ho Chi Minh Trail or through the Truong Son mountain range. Meanwhile, the US army was dropping bombs, and bombers were bombing the Truong Son mountain range day and night, making it take months for the aid fund to reach the battlefield. On average, each trip took 30 days and nights, with the transporters having to overcome bombs and bullets to complete the mission.

Many soldiers were sacrificed and nearly 4 million USD was "burned" by bombs and bullets. However, the later the demand was higher, so the transportation had to be faster, so the B29 Department had to find ways to transport by sea and air. The shortening of the money transport time served the needs of the resistance in time. If it used to take more than 30 days to get to the battlefield, by air it only took more than 3 hours.

And with the determination of the B29 Board, through those methods of transportation, for a long time the aid money from B29 to the battlefields in the South occurred quite regularly. The silent feats of the B29 soldiers contributed greatly to the glorious victory of the Vietnamese people and also brought an important mark of the contribution of the Banking industry to the resistance war.

Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Dao Minh Tu shared that, under the direction of the Party and the State at that time, the banking soldiers carried out their tasks in silence and secrecy, accepting all dangers, even sacrifices, but those secrets and their youth were buried in the fierce battlefield. And this is certainly only a small part of the historical journey of the monetary path in particular and the path to victory of our nation in general.

To ensure the safe and smooth flow of money, many bank officials have heroically sacrificed their lives while on duty on the front lines. Generations of fathers and brothers with their steadfast, indomitable, resourceful and creative spirit overcame numerous difficulties, challenges and dangers, with sweat, tears and blood, making an important contribution to the resistance war against the US to save the country, leading to the historic victory of April 30, 1975, liberating the South and reunifying the country.

The Deputy Governor emphasized that the history of the banking industry cannot fail to mention the silent but miraculous achievements of the officers working at the former B29 Department. Hearing the history of this period, we can appreciate the intelligence and cleverness of the financial managers who had many initiatives to complete the mission of providing the State's financial resources to the Southern battlefield.

Future generations will always consider this a great historical value, a great spiritual value, and a source of pride for generations of the banking industry with the silent contributions and merits of previous generations of cadres.

For their special achievements contributing to the overall victory of the nation, on June 9, 2009, the B29 Special Foreign Currency Fund and the N.2683 Special Finance Department were awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the State.

Source: https://thoibaonganhang.vn/bai-2-ky-tich-quy-ngoai-te-dac-biet-b29-163496.html