On December 8, 2023, the Government issued Decree No. 87/2023/ND-CP regulating the prevention and combat against counterfeit money, and the protection of Vietnam’s currency. This Decree takes effect from February 2, 2024 and shall replace Decision No. 130/2003/QD-TTg dated June 30, 2003 of the Prime Minister on the protection of Vietnam’s currency.
Accordingly, the Decree regulates the detection, seizure, and handling of counterfeit money, temporary seizure of suspected counterfeit money, and suspected illegally damaged money; the detection, seizure, and handling of illegally damaged money; the examination of counterfeit money and suspected counterfeit money; the management of copying and photographing of Vietnam’s money, and the responsibilities of the state authorities, organizations and individuals related to the prevention and combat against counterfeit money, and the protection of Vietnam’s currency.
Regarding the detection and seizure of counterfeit money and the temporary seizure of suspected counterfeit money, the Decree stipulates that in all activities and transactions related to cash, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), the credit institutions, the foreign bank branches, the State Treasury, the public security agencies, the competent agencies of the Armed Forces, and the Customs Authorities shall compare with the security features on the real money with the same denominations, or the SBV’s notifications of the features and how to verify Vietnam’s currency in order to determine whether the concerning money is counterfeit or real.
In case of detecting any counterfeit money, the SBV, the credit institutions, the foreign bank branches, the State Treasury, the public security agencies, the competent agencies of the Armed Forces, or the Customs Authorities shall conduct a seizure and make a record in accordance with Form No. 01 in the Appendix attached to this Decree. In case of detecting any suspected counterfeit money, the authorities shall conduct a temporarily seizure and make a record in accordance with Form No. 02 in the Appendix attached to this Decree.
Within a maximum of 5 working days from the date of the seizure or temporary seizure, the seizing authority is responsible for preparing a set of dossiers requesting for the examination of the counterfeit money if there is request for examination, or preparing a set of dossiers requesting for the examination of the suspected counterfeit money in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 5 of this Decree, and shall send it to a currency examination agency under the Ministry of Public Security or the SBV for examination.
In case the concerning organization or individual does not agree with the record, or the seizure, or the temporary seizure of the concerning money, the SBV, the credit institution, the foreign bank branch or the State Treasury shall immediately report to the nearest police station to request for their cooperation in the handling.
In case of detecting any sign related to an act of making, storing, transporting, or circulating counterfeit money, the relevant organization or individual shall be responsible for reporting on the offense in accordance with the provisions of the laws on criminal procedures. The receipt and handling of the information about the offense shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the laws on criminal procedures.
In addition, the Decree also stipulates the examination of counterfeit and suspected counterfeit money.
With regard to the responsibilities in the prevention and combat against counterfeit money, and the protection of Vietnam’s currency, the Decree clearly stipulates the responsibilities of the state authorities, organizations and individuals, specifically as follows:
The Ministry of Public Security shall be the key responsible agency in the prevention and combat against counterfeit money, and the protection of Vietnam’s currency, and shall take lead and coordinate with the SBV, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and other relevant Ministries and agencies to provide guidance and direct the relevant units in the prevention and combat against counterfeit money, and the protection of Vietnam’s currency. Besides, the Ministry of Public Security shall also take lead and coordinate with the relevant ministries and agencies in the international cooperation for the prevention and combat against crimes related to counterfeit money.
The SBV shall be responsible for ensuring that the currency in circulation is durable, in good shape, with strong anti-counterfeiting features, and is convenient for usage, and shall provide guidance for the preservation of the currency; study and apply solutions to improve the quality and the anti-counterfeiting features of Vietnam’s currency; provide guidance and conduct inspections on the handling of counterfeit and suspected counterfeit money in the banking industry; provide guidance to all organizations and individuals copying and photographing Vietnam’s currency in accordance with the applicable laws; coordinating with the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, and other relevant Ministries and agencies in the information and communication about the protection of Vietnam’s currency.
Le Hang