Printing red envelopes with the image of 500,000 VND bills can result in a fine of up to 80 million VND.
Money-shaped red envelopes are appearing a lot on the market, but according to the State Bank, "this is a violation of the law."
With nearly two weeks to go until Lunar New Year, the red envelope market is even busier. This year, at some market stalls as well as on the "online market", red envelopes printed with images of Vietnamese banknotes with denominations of 500,000 VND, 200,000 VND or 100,000 VND, etc. have appeared.
According to the seller, this red envelope has a size of 7.3x16.5cm so it can fit bills from the smallest to the largest denominations. The design of the two sides of the red envelope is identical to real bills with denominations of 50,000-500,000 VND.
In addition, on the internet there are also red envelope designs printed with images of real money, but instead of printing on both sides like real money, this design only prints on one side with the words "Happy New Year".
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Printing and selling red envelopes with Vietnamese currency images is a violation. |
With a new and unique design, this lucky money envelope model is attracting many buyers with a selling price ranging from 2,500 to 3,000 VND each. Shop owners said that the more customers buy, the cheaper the price will be. Buying 100-200 lucky money envelopes will be priced at 1,000 to 1,500 VND, and buying more will have a lower price.
A representative of the State Bank of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City branch, shared that initial surveys have found that some places print red envelopes that are counterfeiting USD or other foreign currencies. Regarding foreign currencies, the State Bank does not intervene because Vietnam has not signed a cooperation agreement to protect the image of foreign currencies, or some countries do not have regulations.
However, the agency later noted that there were red envelopes printed with images of Vietnamese banknotes with denominations of 500,000 VND, 200,000 VND or 100,000 VND.... The State Bank representative said that this act violated Decision 130 of the Government. Because copying or photographing Vietnamese currency for any purpose without prior written approval from the State Bank of Vietnam is strictly prohibited.
Article 31 of Decree 96/2014 of the Government on administrative sanctions in the field of currency and banking stipulates that the act of printing images of Vietnamese currency on red envelopes is strictly prohibited and can be fined 40-80 million VND. "People should not buy, sell or use these red envelopes because they may be judged by law as assisting those who print fake images of Vietnamese currency," he warned.
In addition, she said that there are also cases of using real money to arrange lucky trees for sale during Tet, and even in some pagodas, monks accidentally use copper coins to arrange lotus flowers. This unintentionally shows disrespect and lack of protection for Vietnamese currency.
The State Bank has just signed an official dispatch to the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Information and Communications requesting coordination in handling violations related to infringement of the image of Vietnamese currency.
In Ho Chi Minh City alone, the State Bank of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City branch, also sent a dispatch to the People's Committee requesting that this agency direct functional units to strengthen inspection and handle violations.
