Vietnamese authorities will be investigating the 189 Vietnam-based individuals and companies named in the controversial Panama Papers.
Released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on May 9, the 11.5 million leaked files that comprise the data dump shine light on back door dealings by some 140 politicians in over 50 countries, so far resulting in the resignation of Icelandic prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson as well as Spanish industry minister Jose Manuel Soria.
As some named in the papers downplayed their presence in the documents, on Tuesday afternoon the country’s General Department of Taxation announced that it had formed a team to investigate any Vietnam-related entities or individuals linked to the Panama Papers, reports Tuoi Tre.
“This is a complicated matter that requires a joint effort from many regulatory bodies,” Nguyen Dai Tri, deputy head of the General Department of Taxation told the newspaper.
Tri added that his agency will work in conjunction with the State Bank of Vietnam and the Ministry of Public Security as well as relevant bodies in foreign countries to determine whether those listed in the data leak have broken any laws.
The issue has also caught the attention of the Central Bank’s anti-money laundering agency.
“We will verify their source of funds and transfer method,” agency head Nguyen Van Ngoc told Tuoi Tre. “It cannot be confirmed whether they have been involved in money laundering, as what we have now is only their names.”
Some experts were quick to point out that an individual or company’s appearance in the papers did not automatically determine whether or not they had violated the law.
Both banking executives and corporate executives told the newspaper that some named in the Panama Papers were there simply because they opened offshore accounts for “legal overseas investment activity” rather than money laundering.
“We cannot solely rely on the leaked documents to accuse a company of violations which require adequate inspection from regulatory bodies to be confirmed,” former CEO of ANZ Vietnam Dam Bich Thuy, whose name appears in the papers, cautioned Tuoi Tre.
Much like Vietnam’s mass fish deaths, it looks like it will be a while before we know the full story.
[Photo via The Next Web]
