Information of nearly 200 Vietnamese individuals and organizations in the Panama Papers will be checked.

This incident has attracted public attention. The General Department of Taxation and the Ministry of Finance have confirmed that they will check this information.

Morning of May 10,in the Panama PapersInternational Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)have informationnearly 200individual, organizationliveVietnam related to foreign investment activities. This incident has attracted public attention. The General Department of Taxation, Ministry of Finance confirmed that it will check this information.

The published data of the "Panama Papers" has clearly shown the individuals and businesses involved in this case, of which there are nearly 200 individuals and organizations in Vietnam alone. Specifically, this document publicly identifies 23 individuals and intermediary organizations; 19 shell companies established abroad and 185 addresses mainly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. This is just a part of the 200,000 overseas businesses established by wealthy individuals around the world that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has announced.

Part of the Panama Papers will be released as searchable data. Photo: CNN

After the Panama Papers were published, some Vietnamese businessmen explained why their names were on the list and said that being on the list was normal, using a foreign company was not a crime. No country has banned the act of opening a company abroad to manage assets.

Currently, many investment funds, both in Vietnam and around the world, use offshore companies as legal entities to conduct their business activities. Appearing in the Panama Papers list does not mean that the company and its legal representatives have engaged in tax evasion or money laundering.

However, speaking to a reporter from VTV, financial and banking expert Can Van Luc said that the authorities need to investigate and evaluate this behavior. Although the law allows individuals and organizations to entrust a third party to manage their assets and capital, if the business violates the law, it must be dealt with.

“We must be calm to have an appropriate approach to ensure the rights and responsibilities of organizations and individuals related to public and transparent tax policies. Normally, countries will require individuals and organizations to explain their income, business activities, and how they operate and manage assets. Whether or not they want to impose fines, there must be evidence. Otherwise, it will only be a long-term lesson that requires adjusting tax policies to minimize the possibility of tax evasion by organizations and individuals.”

Regarding the information that nearly 200 organizations and individuals in Vietnam are named in the Panama Papers, Mr. Bui Van Nam, Director General of the General Department of Taxation, said that this is a case involving many functional agencies and the tax sector is only one of the state management agencies in this field. The tax sector leader affirmed that he will check the above information and have a report in the near future.

Meanwhile, the representative of the Government Inspectorate also said that they are monitoring information from the Panama Papers report posted online. However, whether or not to intervene must wait for instructions from the Central Government because it requires coordination with many functional agencies.

Previously, in early April, the international press simultaneously published the largest secret document to date about a "tax haven" of the world's wealthy and powerful./.

According to VOV