On the afternoon of 24/9, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced Tran The Manh, 44, residing in Quang Ninh, to a total of 24 years in prison for three charges: smuggling, illegal cross-border currency transportation, and forging documents of agencies and organizations.
In the same case, Manh's older sister, Tran Thi Nga, 49, received 16 years in prison for smuggling and forging documents of agencies and organizations. The 10 remaining accomplices were fined from 2 billion VND to 12 years in prison.
Manh had a prior conviction in 2022, serving 20 months for illegal possession of narcotics. Nga was imprisoned in 2008 for smuggling and in 2005 for resisting public officials.
The Trial Panel deemed the case particularly serious, involving a substantial amount of money and driven by profit.
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Manh, Nga (front row) and their accomplices in court. Photo: Danh Lam |
Using seven shell companies and exploiting a loophole in disconnected bank data, Manh and his accounting team recycled 861 cleared customs declarations to create fraudulent international payment dossiers.
To find the most favorable foreign exchange rates, Manh opened 26 personal and business accounts at 29 domestic banks, receiving daily rate updates via Zalo to select the best option. Manh then inserted beneficiary account information in China into fake contracts before submitting the transfer applications.
Through these methods, Manh successfully executed 3,270 money transfer orders via 29 domestic banks over two years. The total amount illegally transferred to China was nearly 520 million USD, equivalent to over 12 trillion VND. For each successful transaction, Manh collected a service fee of 0,04-0,08%, totaling over 5,25 billion VND.
This process was aided by several defendants specialized in collecting funds for the Chinese side, with the largest individual amount collected reaching 990 billion VND, which was then transferred to Manh for the aforementioned transfers.
Smuggling 900 Billion VND of Chinese Goods into Vietnam
Additionally, Manh and Nga were also found to have commissioned the forgery of multiple seals belonging to the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene Testing (Ministry of Health). They used these fake seals to fabricate 376 fake documents, including quality inspection registration certificates and notifications confirming imported food met requirements.
These fake documents were attached to customs dossiers to legalize and clear 250 shipments from China into Vietnam via the Huu Nghi and Chi Ma border gates, with a total value of 904 billion VND.
Customs officials were not prosecuted as they conducted physical inspections of the goods as per regulations and did not detect that the documents Nga presented were fake. Nga claimed to have paid money to some customs officials, but there was no evidence. Investigation results showed that the officials performed their duties correctly and did not receive money, thus were not prosecuted.
Thanh Lam
