Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh has just instructed the Department of Investigation of Crimes related to Corruption, Economics, and Smuggling (C03) – a unit under the Ministry of Public Security – to strengthen the management of virtual currencies, digital assets, and trading platforms in the context of the rapidly developing digital economy, which poses many risks of financial fraud, money laundering, and cross-border scams.
On the afternoon of February 22nd (the 6th day of the Lunar New Year), during a visit to extend New Year greetings to officers and soldiers of Department C03, the Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the comprehensive results achieved by the economic police force in the past period, especially in the fight against corruption, negative practices, and large-scale economic crimes. Many major cases have been discovered, investigated, and strictly handled, thereby recovering a significant amount of assets for the State, contributing to strengthening the people's trust in the fight against corruption.
According to government leaders, 2025 and the period 2026–2031 are pivotal years with many high growth targets, aiming to maintain double-digit growth for many years. This requires seeking new drivers of development, restructuring the economy, promoting digital transformation, innovating the growth model, and improving the quality of investment attraction, especially foreign Capital . However, alongside the opportunities are increasing pressures from high-tech crimes, financial crimes, and acts of exploiting the Capital market, stock market, and digital assets for personal gain.
In this context, the management of cryptocurrencies and digital assets is a top priority. The cryptocurrency market in Vietnam has seen significant interest from individual investors in recent years, while the legal framework remains under development. Cryptocurrency exchanges, digital asset Derivative exchanges, and Capital projects through Tokenize have grown rapidly, but also pose risks of fraud, price manipulation, illegal issuance, or disguised pyramid Capital .
The Deputy Prime Minister requested that the C03 proactively monitor the situation and strengthen operational work to detect early violations related to virtual currencies, digital assets, and online trading platforms. At the same time, this force needs to coordinate closely with functional units inside and outside the police force to handle cases with transnational elements, especially money laundering rings through blockchain, e-wallets, and the DeFi ecosystem.
Another important task emphasized is to strengthen the advisory role in perfecting the legal framework for economic management and preventing misconduct and crime in the digital finance sector. In the context of Vietnam aiming to become a regional financial center, establishing a transparent legal framework for digital assets, exchanges, and new Capital models is XEM a prerequisite for both encouraging innovation and controlling systemic risks. Government leaders also stressed the need to protect proactive officials and businesses that dare to think and act for the common good, avoiding hesitation and fear of responsibility in the implementation of new economic models.
Recent events have shown that many countries have tightened regulations on the cryptocurrency market following a series of cryptocurrency exchange and project collapses that caused billions of dollars in losses to investors. Regulations on anti-money laundering (AML), know-how (KYC), monitoring suspicious transactions, and requirements for transparency of reserve assets are becoming a global trend. Vietnam is also researching controlled testing mechanisms (sandboxes) for the fintech and digital asset sectors to balance innovation and the safety of the financial system.
In this context, the role of C03 is not limited to handling the consequences but must also involve actively participating in policy-making, providing early warnings of risks, and coordinating the resolution of difficulties for stalled projects, preventing prolonged violations that cause significant losses. Strengthening political, ethical, and professional education for officers and soldiers is also considered a key factor in building a clean and strong force, meeting the increasingly high demands of combating economic crime in the digital age.
