The Hanoi police caught an illegal dollar trading deal worth US$390,500 (about VND8.4 billion) at a branch of the Vietnam Export-Import Bank on March 8.
The police caught two individuals Nguyen Ngoc Tuan and Dao Manh Quan red-handed, while they traded in greenbacks with Nguyen Thi Thu Huyen and Duong Thi Thuy Trang. Neither Tuan nor Quan were licensed traders.
The entire amounts of $390,500 and VND8, 4 billion were seized by the police.
The Eximbank's branch said that it didn't know about the trading and its employees legally conducted the transaction in US dollar under a requirement by Huyen and Trang.
Earlier, the State Bank of Vietnam had announced that it would join hands with the police and market regulators to investigate and punish violators in dollar trading transactions in the black market. The concerted effort is meant to eliminate illegal dollar trading.
Major General Nguyen Tien Luc, deputy head of the Crime Prevention Police Bureau said the bureau will continue to coordinate with banks and related departments to implement strong measures to stop foreign currency trades in the free market and penalize violators.
Police will also check and monitor all foreign exchange counters and penalize those that quote products in dollars as well.
