State Bank of Vietnam signs coordination rules with the Ministry of Public Security to strengthen handling of suspicious transaction information

The State Bank of Vietnam’s Anti-Money Laundering Department and the Ministry of Public Security’s Economic Security Department signed a coordination protocol on processing and exchanging information on suspicious transactions, formalising cooperation on suspicious transaction report referrals and follow-up. Under the 2022 Anti-Money Laundering Law, the State Bank of Vietnam unit receives thousands of suspicious transaction reports (STRs) each year, with volumes rising by around 30% annually. From 2023 onwards it issued nearly 600 written referrals covering more than 5,000 STRs to the Economic Security Department, which sent 115 written feedback responses. Information shared has focused on higher and medium-high money laundering risk predicate crime areas identified in the national risk assessment, including cyber-enabled fraud, online gambling and betting, circular transfers among firms and individuals suspected of tax fraud or value added tax refund abuse, and transactions disguised as import-export payments to move funds abroad. The State Bank of Vietnam’s Deputy Governor called for rapid implementation of the protocol and a regular review mechanism, with cooperation priorities including stronger information exchange to support investigation, prosecution and adjudication, more parallel investigations of predicate offences and money laundering based on STRs, joint money-flow tracing, staff training and good-practice sharing, and exploring technology and connectivity solutions to improve detection and prevention.