National Assembly Delegate Doan Nghe An proposed to perfect regulations on preventing and combating money laundering in the real estate sector.

Overview of the discussion session at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly on the morning of November 1. Photo: Quochoi.vn

Speaking at the discussion, delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province agreed with the necessity of amending the Law on Anti-Money Laundering and recognized that the draft Law had been fully and carefully prepared for consideration and approval at this session.

Regarding anti-money laundering in the real estate sector, the delegate said: Along with banking, real estate is a sector at high risk of being "attacked" by money laundering criminals because real estate investment is relatively convenient and procedures are simpler when participating in the market.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Hai chaired the discussion in the hall about the draft Law on Anti-Money Laundering (amended). Photo: Quochoi.vn

Real estate transactions can be carried out through real estate trading floors or directly between buyers and sellers; payments are made according to agreements between the parties, and can be in cash or by bank transfer, so it is difficult to check and verify the origin of the money.

In fact, cash payments for real estate transactions in Vietnam are quite common, with transactions not conducted through trading floors accounting for a large number and high transaction value. Through the fight against crime, it is shown that criminals often launder money by asking relatives and family to buy, transfer, or give away real estate.

National Assembly Deputies of Nghe An Delegation at the discussion session on the morning of November 1 at Dien Hong Hall, National Assembly House. Photo: Quang Khanh

“Therefore, the regulation and enforcement of anti-money laundering regulations in the real estate sector is extremely necessary, not only to fulfill Vietnam’s international commitments but also to contribute significantly to the fight against corruption that our Party and State are carrying out,” said Ms. Thai Thi An Chung; at the same time, she proposed 4 contents to contribute to perfecting the regulations on anti-money laundering in the real estate sector.

First of all, it is necessary to add the reporting entity specified in Clause 2, Article 4, which is the property auction organization, because auction is a popular form of property trading in a market economy. The State implements the allocation of land use rights to households and individuals with land use fees mainly through auctions. In recent years, land use rights auctions have been very active, and revenue from land use rights auctions accounts for a large proportion of local budget revenue. Therefore, it is also necessary to closely monitor the cash flow participating in land use rights auctions to prevent money laundering and at the same time help the real estate market develop stably and healthily, avoiding the occurrence of a "bubble".

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Deputy Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Nghe An province spoke at the discussion on the draft Law on Anti-Money Laundering (amended). Photo: Quang Khanh

Along with that, there are additional suspicious signs in the real estate business sector as stipulated in Article 33 of the draft law, which are: customers making large cash transactions; customers making many or more transactions in one day; customers buying and selling many or more real estates at one time (many can be from 2 or from 5 or more as stipulated by the Government); results of land use rights auctions increase abnormally...

At the same time, the Ministry of Justice's responsibilities in Article 53 are supplemented, which is to preside over and coordinate with relevant agencies to implement anti-money laundering measures applicable to reporting entities such as auctioneers and auction organizations; to inspect, examine and supervise anti-money laundering activities of these entities.

Along with the amendment of the Law on Anti-Money Laundering, the amendment of Article 16 and Article 57 of the Law on Real Estate Business in the direction of stipulating that real estate transactions must be paid through the banking system is extremely necessary to prevent tax losses, prevent money laundering and ensure transparency in the real estate market. Therefore, the delegates proposed to add to Article 63 of the draft Law amending and supplementing Article 16 and Article 57 of the Law on Real Estate Business No. 66 approved by the National Assembly on November 25, 2014.

Female National Assembly deputies discuss on the sidelines of the discussion session on the morning of November 1 at the National Assembly House. Photo: Quang Khanh

Delegate Thai Thi An Chung also suggested that a separate chapter on international cooperation in preventing and combating money laundering should be designed to ensure the logic of the draft Law; at the same time, continue to affirm more clearly Vietnam's initiative in bilateral and multilateral cooperation activities in the fight against money laundering crimes and implement Vietnam's international commitments in preventing and combating money laundering.

In 2007, Vietnam became a member of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG). Joining APG affirms Vietnam's commitment and efforts in the process of integration with the world economy in building a healthy financial institution and fighting against crime in general and money laundering, terrorist financing, and financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction./.