Two directors counterfeited records, colluded in smuggling

The smuggled goods were arrested by the Customs Department of Hochiminh City at Cat Lai port in May 2017. Photo: T.H.

Declare the wrong name of imported goods

According to information from the Customs Sub-Department of Saigon Port Zone 1, at the end of 2015, the Doanh Gia Co., Ltd. Was in the name of opening customs declaration at the Customs Sub-Department of Saigon Port Zone 1 to import a container including: Coffee machines, racing bikes, loudspeakers, 3 phase AC generators. With suspicious signs, the Customs Sub-Department of Saigon Port Zone 1 cooperated with Department of Criminal Smuggling Police (C74) - Ministry of Public Security to inspect and detect that the majority of goods in the containers was the used electronics, foods, cosmetics, functional foods... on the list of goods banned from import in condition under Decree 187/ND-CP of the Government.

From this violation goods, the Customs Sub-Department of Saigon Port Zone 1 checked the remaining goods of container at the port, found that the Doanh Gia limited company remained a similar container docked at the Cat Lai port, the company received the delivery order, but the customs declaration were not carried out for the purpose of receiving goods. The Customs Sub-Department of Saigon Port Zone 1 continued to cooperate with C74 search this container, found that many items in this container were also the used electronics, food, cosmetics, functional food… on the list of goods banned from import and imported under the licenses.

2 violation goods valued nearly 1.5 billion VND. The Customs Sub-Department of Saigon Port Zone 1 issued a Decision to initiate a prosecution on the “illegal cross-border movement of goods” occurred at the Cat Lai port, related to the Doanh Gia Limited Company.

Collude to counterfeit the records

In order to bring the two above mentioned containers into Vietnam, the objects colluded together to counterfeit the records to legalize the customs declaration. According to the search and verification result, Mr Pham Doan Hau, Director of Doanh Gia Co., Ltd was hired to carry out procedures to import the above consignment with 1.48 billion VND. They knew that these goods could not be made the import procedures in accordance with the regulations, so Hau discussed to hire Nguyen Viet Thanh to implement with 1.2 billion VND. Working with the Customs authorities, the objects admitted to knowing the needs of import license for these goods, so there were discussion and exchange for the deceitful declaration, counterfeiting the records to legalize the declaration...

Mr Nguyen Viet Thanh, Director of Khang Trinh Co., Ltd, confessed that his company was hired by Pham Doan Hau to deliver two containers of imported goods including: racing bikes, coffee machines, loudspeakers, clothes, confectionery… with the cost of 1.2 billion VND (Mr Hau gave 700 million in advance for Mr Thanh). Before signing the contract for customs clearance service, Mr Pham Doan Hau knew all the actual items contained in the container in advance but did not know the quantity of each goods.

By researching, Mr Thanh knew that the import of functional foods, electronic machinery and equipment must be licensed, and must be subject to specialized inspection, due to not obtain a license, so they only declare 4 items as mentioned above when carrying out the customs procedures. In order to legalize the declaration of deceitful goods, Mr Nguyen Viet Thanh made two sets of import documents for the same shipment. A set of documents was provided by the Doanh Gia Co., Ltd., a set included foreign trade contract, commercial invoice, packing list specification had repaired and forged signatures of export partners for this consignment by Mr Thanh. Making a further document, Mr Thanh reported to Mr Pham Doan Hau and Mr Hau signed directly on all documents repaired by Mr Thanh.

Mr Pham Doan Hau also admitted that Mr Thanh repaired the import documents and handed him to sign and stamp under name of the Doanh Gia Limited Company. However, Mr Hau said they did not pay money to exporters on the foreign trade contract because he did not know information of the exporters on the contract, the information was self-declared by Mr Thanh to legalize the import records. However, Mr Pham Doan Hau declared that the shipment was hired by Mr Tran Tuan Kiet. In the employment agreement, Mr Kiet said that the goods of containers were milk, coffee grinders, bicycles and gifts from the United States.