Today's verdict in Nhat Cuong case: 'Loopholes' in customs and foreign exchange transactions

Closed thousands of smuggled orders over the phone

This afternoon (May 10), Hanoi People's Court will sentence 14 defendants in the case."Smuggle”, “Violation of accounting regulations causing serious consequences” occurred at Nhat Cuong Company. What is worth mentioning in this case is that most of the defendants who appeared in court were just salaried employees, following the instructions of the “boss” of the network, Bui Quang Huy, who is now on the run. Among the defendants, one person died in the hospital due to a serious illness, Mr. Mai Tien Dung - the former head of the telephone department of Nhat Cuong. Mr. Dung was exempted from criminal prosecution.

In addition, the Procuracy has proposed quite severe sentences for other defendants. Among them, the person with the highest proposed sentence is Tran Ngoc Anh, Deputy General Director of Nhat Cuong, with a sentence of 15-16 years in prison for the crime of "Smuggling".

Defendants in the Nhat Cuong case.

The smuggling ring established by Bui Quang Huy is considered sophisticated and of an unprecedented scale in the retail industry of phones and electronic devices. According to the defendants' confirmation, through this ring, 255,000 products, worth more than VND 2,927 billion, were successfully smuggled from China, Hong Kong, Singapore... into Vietnam.

In this case, the leader is Bui Quang Huy and most of the defendants are IT experts. Transactions with foreign partners do not require direct work but are conducted through Wechat, Whatsapp, Zalo groups... to conduct agreements.

Nhat Cuong Deputy General Director - Tran Ngoc Anh stated: "The search and connection with suppliers was done by Bui Quang Huy. Bui Quang Huy created chat groups via WhatsApp and Wechat applications to communicate with suppliers". Defendant Anh himself is the Deputy General Director but has only met directly with suppliers twice (there are up to 15 suppliers of smuggled goods to Nhat Cuong in Asian countries).

"Among the 12 suppliers, Do Anh Hung in Hong Kong visited Bui Quang Huy at the company, so the defendant met him. In addition, the defendant knew that Ngo Xuan Suu had come to Nhat Cuong Company to receive money from selling goods" - Defendant Anh presented to the panel of judges.

The remaining defendants stated that they all transacted and closed orders via phone chat groups. A total of 2,500 smuggled orders were closed, equivalent to 255,000 phones and electronic components.

Transfer money through gold shop, create fake customs documents

After finalizing the order, the defendants proceeded to transfer huge sums of money through gold shops in Hanoi. So far, the authorities have determined that Bui Quang Huy and his accomplices used two gold shops in Hoan Kiem District (Hanoi) to transfer thousands of billions of VND to pay suppliers abroad.

Accordingly, Loc Phat gold shop (Ha Trung street, Hoan Kiem district) transferred 1,729 billion VND; paid in cash 1,121 billion VND, the remaining amount was transferred to 21 accounts of 12 individuals. Thuan Phat gold shop (Hang Dau street) transferred 795 billion VND; paid in cash 487 billion VND, the remaining amount was transferred to 14 accounts of 8 individuals.

Defendant Tran Ngoc Anh, Deputy General Director of Nhat Cuong (Photo: VNA)

At the trial, defendant Nguyen Bao Ngoc stated that he was assigned to transfer the money for the goods after Bui Quang Huy had finalized the order. In particular, the defendant gave directly to Ngo Xuan Suu, the supplier of Mien Tay Company, about 200 billion VND.

"In addition, the defendant also paid foreign suppliers through intermediaries at gold shops on Hang Dau and Ha Trung streets. The total amount paid through those two gold shops was directed by Bui Quang Huy to be paid" - defendant Ngoc stated and confirmed that the amount determined by the investigation agency was correct.

During the process of receiving the goods, Bui Quang Huy collaborated with a network of fake invoices and documents, and created fake customs documents led by two defendants Doan Manh Phong and Nguyen Bao Trung. Specifically, Bui Quang Huy hired 3 lines to smuggle the smuggled goods through Noi Bai airport.

From January 2016 to November 2017, Nguyen Bao Trung's ring used the trick of creating fake customs documents to successfully transport more than 40,000 products (worth nearly 550 billion VND) from Hong Kong (China) to Vietnam via Noi Bai Airport. After the operation, Trung received nearly 14 billion VND in shipping fees from Bui Quang Huy and his accomplices.

From the end of 2017 to September 2018, this line received nearly 17,000 types of goods (worth more than 307 billion VND) from suppliers in Hong Kong (China) to send to Vietnam by air.

When the goods arrived at Noi Bai airport, Doan Manh Phong's group used the trick of setting up a "ghost" company to obtain a legal entity to declare customs with different goods. After that, the group opened a customs declaration to receive the smuggled goods from the airport and bring them to the center of Hanoi to deliver to Huy and his accomplices. Bui Quang Huy paid the transportation fee for this stage, amounting to more than 7.9 billion VND.