Former CEO of the Saigon Jewelry Joint Stock Company (SJC), Le Thuy Hang, was arrested on charges of exploiting gold price stabilization programs and falsifying documents to embezzle assets.
- The case involves six SJC officials, including Le Thuy Hang, directors of the gold factory, and branch managers.
- The defendants are charged with abusing their positions and powers and embezzling assets.
- SJC, a state-owned enterprise, has had a monopoly on gold bar production since 2014. The company is facing significant changes as the State Bank of Vietnam proposes ending the monopoly due to the prolonged gold price disparity.
The initial investigation results accuse the suspects of “exploiting the gold trading to stabilize prices, falsifying documents and records, embezzling money, and benefiting illegally.”
SJC is a 100% state-owned enterprise, directly under the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. For many years, this enterprise has contributed tens of billions of VND to the state budget. SJC is among the 27 companies that the state will hold no more than 50% of the charter capital or will no longer own after equitization.
This company is the only entity authorized by the State Bank of Vietnam to exclusively produce gold bars from 2014 to the present. In recent years, SJC gold prices have significantly differed from international prices, as well as other types of gold bars, jewelry, and handicrafts. Since late 2023, the strong fluctuations in the gold market have prompted the State Bank to propose changing the production plan and ending the monopoly situation.
