Gold bars are difficult to register to buy, many people turn to online markets

“Golden order” on social networks

In early June 2024, 4 state-owned commercial banks (Vietcombank, VietinBank, BIDV, Agribank ) and Saigon Jewelry Company (SJC) organized the sale of SJC gold bars.

However, after a few days of opening, the number of customers coming to trade was too large, so the units switched to selling gold online. Up to now, registering to buy gold online is still quite difficult for many people because the system notifies that there are no more transactions.

In the past 3 days, Ms. Tran Thuy Tien (living in District 5) has been continuously visiting banks’ websites to register to buy gold, but has not been successful. After talking to a friend, Ms. Tien was introduced to groups that accept “gold hunting”, sell gold purchase quotas, and register to buy SJC gold bars… on social networks.

“I saw that the service price fluctuated from 300,000 to 400,000 VND/tael. They promised to pay only after receiving the gold, so I tried it because it was too difficult to register to buy gold myself,” Ms. Tien shared.

Public gold bar purchasing service on social networking sites. Screenshot

PV contacted an account named Nguyen Hung to help buy SJC gold in Ho Chi Minh City. This account said that if buying at SJC Company, the fee is 150,000 - 300,000 VND/tael. At Vietcombank , it is 300,000 VND/tael, requiring customers to have an account with this bank and the account is still active at the time of the transaction.

At BIDV , Vietinbank or Agribank, the fee is 200,000 - 400,000 VND/tael, requiring customers to have an account with this bank, the account must have enough money to buy 1 tael of gold, citizen identification card... Priority is given to first-time customers, accounts that have successfully placed an order will have to wait a while to continue purchasing.

“We guarantee a 90-100% success rate, regardless of where the customer wants to buy, whichever bank. No deposit accepted, only receive money after delivering the gold” - this account said.

Risks of buying and selling gold online

In particular, there are many groups that are still buying and selling gold quite bustlingly. PV joined the group "Exchanging SJC, PNJ, DOJI gold bars without intermediaries" with 10,600 members, each article posted to this group has a lot of interactions.

Articles about buying and selling gold are posted continuously on groups. Screenshot

An anonymous account posted: “There are 2 taels of gold in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City for sale at 80.9”, after only 5 minutes there were dozens of interactions. When the reporter asked to buy gold, this person proactively contacted him privately to inform that the next day there would be gold, and he could buy as much as he wanted.

However, when asked for the invoice, this person said that the gold bought and sold had a reputable origin. With or without an invoice, the buyer can still sell it at outside gold shops.

Speaking to Lao Dong newspaper, lawyer Nguyen Dang Tu - TriLaw Law Office - said that individuals agreeing on gold prices to trade, buy and sell gold bars and gold rings with each other, if not in accordance with regulations, could be a violation of the law.

As we know, information of customers buying SJC gold bars in Ho Chi Minh City will be transferred to the police for management. And from the end of July 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has also established a working group to ensure gold market security to collect and analyze information, data, and situations about customers buying and selling gold bars.

Every day, the State Bank of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City branch, collects and transfers to the Ho Chi Minh City Police information and documents on the list of individuals who bought gold at SJC gold bar sales points of Saigon Jewelry Company Limited and 4 commercial banks in the city.

"Therefore, individuals buying and selling gold bars can only do so at credit institutions and businesses licensed by the State Bank to buy and sell gold bars. If there is a violation, depending on the severity, they will be fined up to 20 million VND. Over-the-counter transactions can lead to many risks such as no invoices or documents, being identified by authorities as smuggled goods, of unknown origin, or even counterfeit goods, which can be confiscated," said lawyer Nguyen Dang Tu - TriLaw Law Office.

Source: https://laodong.vn/kinh-doanh/vang-mieng-kho-dang-ky-mua-nhieu-nguoi-tim-den-cho-mang-1382671.ldo