How does Euro Auto Make Fake Invoices to Illegally Import 91 BMW Cars?

How many cars imported by the Euro AutoCorporation?

The Euro AutoCorporation (herein after as Euro Auto), formerly known as Tin Dai AutoCorporation, was established under the first certificate of business registration on 29 November 2006 by the Ho Chi Minh City Planning and InvestmentDepartment. On 15 November2013, Sime Dardy Group (Malaysia) acquired and owned 99% of Euro Auto charter through 2 subsidiaries: Aurope Automobiles Coporation Holding (Singapore) and Sime Singapore Limited, and Ms. Chu Dang Ngoc Trinh owned the remaining 1%.

During its operation, Euro Auto has changed business registration many times, on 30 December 2015 the company changed its business registration for the 16thtime, the legal representative is General Director Mr. Nguyen Dang Thao. The company has registered many business lines, the main business line is import, wholesale, retail distribution, maintenance and repair services of cars and motorcycles distributed by the company.

From 1 July2007, Euro Auto signed a contract with BMW AG Company (Germany) to operate as an official importer and distributor of BMW, Mini Cooper cars and Moto rad in the Vietnam market. Euro Auto and BMW AG Company agreed and signed sales contract for each shipment; BMW AG Company transferred to Euro Auto 3 original documents via postal service including Sales contract (with signature of BMW AG Company’s representative), Invoice and Bill of Lading.

From 2007 to December 2016, Euro Auto signed 473 sales contracts to import 9,353 vehicles (including 9,028 cars and 325 motorcycles) valued at 5,484 VND billion. In order to import these vehicles, on 18 June 2007, Euro Auto and Viet A Logistics Service Co., Ltd signed a contract of delivery service agreement that Viet A Company shall implement Customs declaration, Customs clearance and goods delivery for Euro Auto. Viet A Company assigned Tran Hai Dang, Deputy Director to directly carry out Customs procedures and delivery of goods for Euro Auto under the signed contract.

Need to clarify the illegal import of 91 BMW cars

According to the indictment of the Supreme People's Procuracy, from May to June 2013, taking advantage of the import of BMW cars from Germany to sell in Vietnam market, with the aim of reducing import tax and implementing customs clearance the shipment under 9 sales contracts signed with BMW AG Company, Nguyen Dang Thao- former General Director of Euro Auto and Nguyen Thi Minh Yen - Former Head of Planning, Product Management and Distribution Department of Euro Auto forged sales contracts to adjust the price of 91 BMW cars to complete customs declaration documents.

To this end, Nguyen Dang Thao and Nguyen Thi Minh Yen colluded with Tran Hai Dang to forge 91 invoices of BMW AG Company with the price lower than the price declared on the Invoice issued by BMW AGCompanyto carry out Customs clearance for 91 BMW cars worth EUR 2,163,692 (equivalent to VND 60,027 billion).

By using this trick, the defendantshave illegally benefitted Euro Auto over VND 6.4 billion which should have gone to the State in tax.

Nguyen Dang Thao, the representative of Euro Auto who directly signed fake documents and invoices to complete the import procedures for 91 cars andTran Hai Dang who directly made fake invoices with the lower price and directly carried out import procedures for 91 cars are the main culprits in the crime. Nguyen Minh Yen who is responsible for ordering goods and receiving the purchase documents, has the accomplice role in the case.

The investigation concluded that the91 cars imported and implemented Customs clearance by using fake customs dossiers are considered as smuggled cars. Euro Auto has sold all these cars, and as the consumers signed sale contracts and did not know that Euro Auto used fake documents to import, these cars cannot be recoveredfrom the consumers. Thus, Euro Auto is responsible for the value of smuggled cars.

For acts of importing 133 BMW cars in 2016; act of selling 23 cars without the correct Customs clearance decisions; importing 81 BMW cars in 2011-2012 through AAF Company (Hong Kong); Euro Auto used fake invoices made by Tran Hai Dang to import cars from 2007 to now, the Supreme People's Procuratorate has issued a written request to the Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security to urgently conclude the investigation in accordance with the law.

According to the indictment, Nguyen Dang Thao, Tran Hai Dang and Nguyen Thi Minh Yen are being prosecuted for smuggling crimes.

In June 2016, the Post- Clearance Audit Department under the General Department of Vietnam Customs has carried out Customs clearance for imported cars of Euro Auto. As a result, the Department detected some violations. Thus, on 30 November 2016, the Ministry of Finance issued an Official letter No. 17041/BTC-VP requesting the General Department of Vietnam Customs to suspend customs clearancefor BMW cars imported by Euro Auto. The Customs authority suspended Customs clearance for 133 BMW cars imported at VICT port by the by Euro Auto and transferred the company’s customs dossier to the Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department (under GDVC) to investigate and verify. The Anti-Smuggling and Investigation Department asked the Institute of Criminal Science of the Ministry of Public Security to verify a number of documents in 65 sets of import declarations of BMW cars of Euro Auto from 2013 to 2016. Based on the verification results, Euro Auto used some faked documents for customs declaration and car imports. On 20 December 2016, the Anti-smuggling and Investigation Department issued a decision on criminal prosecution for smuggling of Euro Auto Company and transferred the dossier to the Investigation Police Department – Ministry of Public Security for investigation in accordance with regulations.

 

By Le Thu/Ngoc Loan (Source: VCN)