Corruption hinders fight against smuggling, trade fraud
Crimes relating to smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods were still a big problem due to irresponsibility, loose management and corrupted State employees, said Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh.
Police in the central province of Quang Binh seize more than 10,200 smuggled toys and 700 plastic guns early last April. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Crimes relating to smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods werestill a big problem due to irresponsibility, loose management and corruptedState employees, said Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh.
Binh, who is alsohead of the National Steering Committee 389 for Anti-smuggling, CounterfeitGoods and Trade Fraud, said at the committee’s meeting on July 23 that in thefirst half of this year, authorities, agencies and the committee did a good jobin tackling corruption, particularly in cases relating to land managementand public investment.
However,there remained a group of corrupt State employees who abetted andcovered up crimes, he said, adding that they would be strictly punished.
DeputyMinister of Public Security Senior Lieutenant General Le Quy Vuong reported atthe meeting that in the first half of this year, nearly 75,300 cases ofsmuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods were detected, down 12 percentcompared with the same period last year.
Criminalinvestigations and legal proceedings were launched in 1,128 cases involving1,346 suspects. The numbers of cases and suspects reduced 14 percent and 13 percentrespectively compared with the same period last year.
Crackingdown on smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods helped add nearly 11.3trillion VND (490 million USD) to the State budget.
As many as23,465 crimes were reported in the last six months, a year-on-year reduction of8.4 percent, Vuong said, adding that cybercrimes were more and morecomplicated and hidden.
He said thepublic was very concerned over violations relating to speculation, smugglingand producing fake medical products during the COVID-19 pandemic,particularly bidding and purchasing of medical equipment serving diseaseprevention and control.
Nguyen Van Can,General Director of the General Department of Vietnam Customs, said that earlythis month, customs officers found 50,000 Chinese bikes and electronic bikeslabelled as Made-in-Vietnam products for export to the US.
Notably,customs also found a company that illegally falsified certificate of origin(C/O) and issued it to 30 exporting companies with the value of exported goodsworth 600 billion VND (26 million USD) while the company was not authorised togrant C/O.
“This kindof trade fraud is seen for the first time in Vietnam,” Can said, adding thatcustoms and economic police were working together and would soon launchlegal proceedings in the case./.
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Police in the central province of Quang Binh seize more than 10,200 smuggled toys and 700 plastic guns early last April. (Photo: VNA) 
