Binh said Saturday that the central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), should look into the legality and appropriateness of such a heavy fine being imposed on a man in southern Can Tho Province. SBV Governor Le Minh Hung had said Friday that the director of central bank’s southern branch was working with the Can Tho’s People’s Committee to investigate the matter further. On Tuesday, 38-year-old electrician Nguyen Ca Re was fined VND90 million ($3,855) by Can Tho authorities for exchanging a $100 note in a gold shop. The VND2.3 million ($98.48) that Re received from the shop was also confiscated. A heavy fine of VND295 million ($12,630) was also slapped on the gold shop and the $100 note confiscated. Re said that he had been given the $100 by a relative and had been exchanging dollar notes at gold shops before without any trouble. He also said that with his monthly salary of VND4 million ($171), he doesn’t know how to get the money to pay the VND90 million fine. The fine was a reflection of weak governance, said National Assembly delegate and Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Bar Federation Nguyen Chien said Saturday. “Many illegal currency exchange points still exist [in Vietnam], and the government is responsible for that first-hand,” he added. The government needs to deal with those illegal currency exchange points instead of punishing people like Re, Chien said. While current regulations ban the unauthorized buying and selling of foreign currencies, gold shops have for… [Read full story]
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