Australian Court issues prison sentences for AUD/VND exchange rate fixing
Australian Federal Court has sentenced four individuals to suspended prison terms and imposed a one million dollar fine on Sydney money remittance business Vina Money in a prosecution conducted by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP), following a joint investigation by the ACCC and the Australian Federal Police.
The sentences relate to price fixing of the Australian dollar/ Vietnamese dong exchange rate and the transaction fees charged to customers who were sending money from Australia to Vietnam, which took place between January 2012 and August 2016.
Four individuals, who were linked to Vina Money and its competitor, money remittance business Hong Vina, pleaded guilty earlier this year and are the first individuals to be sentenced under criminal cartel laws.
The CDPP today withdrew a remaining criminal cartel charge against a fifth individual, a 33-year-old man from Sydney.
The Federal Court:
- imposed a fine on Vina Money of $1,000,000;
- sentenced former company secretary and director of Vina Money, Van Ngoc Le, to imprisonment of 2 years and 6 months;
- sentenced former company secretary and director of Vina Money, Tony Le, to imprisonment of 9 months;
- sentenced former company secretary and director of Hong Vina, Khai Van Tran, to imprisonment of 1 year and 7 months; and
- sentenced former shareholder of Hong Vina, Thi Huong Nguyen, to imprisonment of 2 years and 4 months.
All four individuals were released on recognisance orders to be of good behaviour, without serving time in custody.
During sentencing, Justice Abraham highlighted “the need to deter those who may see possible penalty as a cost of doing business” and described cartel conduct as “evil”. She noted that the conduct, at least in relation to the fixing of the exchange rates, was deliberate, took place over a sustained period, had a degree of sophistication and was directed at financial gain.
However, Justice Abraham considered the personal circumstances of the accused and COVID-19-related delays and decided to release all four individuals on recognisance orders.
Vina Money and Hong Vina operated competing money remittance businesses in Footscray, Victoria, and in Cabramatta in NSW. Both businesses used a large Vietnamese commercial bank (Sacombank) to make payments in Vietnam on their behalf.
The Court heard evidence of communications between the two businesses and Sacombank which encouraged Vina Money and Hong Vina to agree on exchange rates instead of competing. This arrangement continued for several years.
The businesses also agreed to stop discounting their fees and charged full transaction fees in their branches.