Vietnam's state bank tries to reassure clients in wake of multi-million fraud cases

Vietnamese banks and government authorities are trying their best to protect the legal rights of clients in the wake of multiple fraud cases that involved clients losing millions of dollars, an official from the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) said at a press conference on Monday.

Vice governor of the central bank, Nguyen Thi Hong, said banks have gone to great lengths to protect the rights of clients, and that the SBV has issued tight regulations to manage deposits and force credit unions to comply.

“These documents [on regulations] clearly outline the procedures for managing deposits and explicitly state that credit unions are responsible for transparency. Violations will not be tolerated,” Hong said.

She also advised bank clients to regularly check their accounts and conduct their transactions in person to  prevent possible fraudulent activity.

“If anyone spots unusual activity with their accounts, they should contact local authorities immediately,” she added.

Cases of bank fraud have captured public attention recently. In February, an Eximbank exec fled overseas with VND245 billion ($10.8 million) stolen from a customer using forged documents.

According to a police investigation, loopholes had enabled Le Nguyen Hung, former deputy director of Eximbank’s HCMC branch, to draw $10.8 million from the account of Chu Thi Binh, a seafood businesswoman and long-time Eximbank client.

There is an international arrest warrant out for Hung.

Eximbank CEO Le Van Quyet said it cannot reimburse Binh until a court decides the bank is responsible for the loss. It is not clear when the court hearing will be held.