Risk of losing money when saving at gold shops to get high interest

The higher the interest rate, the greater the risk.

For many days now, dozens of people have been constantly surrounding the Kim Hoa gold shop (Dien Chau commune, Nghe An province), hoping that the shop owner will return the money they deposited there. However, the shop owner said that this money has nothing to do with it because the shop has now changed owners.

“Last year, the gold shop owner declared bankruptcy. When we heard the news, he promised and delayed the payment over and over again. Now, more than a year has passed and he still hasn’t paid, so we quit our jobs and came here to put pressure on him to get his money back,” said Ms. Phan Thi Trieu (53 years old, Trung Song hamlet, An Chau commune).

People standing in front of the gold shop put pressure to demand money. Photo: TH

According to Ms. Trieu, seeing many people in the village flocking to deposit money in Kim Hoa gold shop, she previously brought all her savings of 600 million VND here to deposit, with an interest rate of 0.8%/month. The deposit amount, interest rate as well as the deposit date are clearly stated on the gold shop's invoice, with the gold shop's stamp and the signature of the shop's owner, Ms. Ho Thi Hoa.

“The interest rate is a bit higher than depositing money in a bank, but besides that, depositing money in a gold shop is also more convenient than in a bank. We do business, when we deposit money in a bank, sometimes we need money suddenly and want to withdraw it early, but we don’t get the interest anymore. But when we deposit money in a gold shop, we can withdraw it anytime without losing interest, just need to notify them 1 day in advance. Besides, the gold shop owner is also from the neighborhood, so everyone trusts us,” Ms. Trieu said about the reason for depositing money.

Interest was paid regularly until October 2024. Ms. Trieu was shocked when she heard rumors that the gold shop had gone bankrupt. “When we heard the news, we came to withdraw the money, but Ms. Hoa said that she had lent someone else nearly 70 billion VND, but that person went bankrupt so she couldn’t get it back. Therefore, Ms. Hoa didn’t have the money to pay the people, she asked for a few months, promising to pay us back gradually. Near Tet, after many times of asking for it, I was paid 30 million VND. But since then, they have refused to pay anymore,” Ms. Trieu added.

Similar to Ms. Trieu, Ms. Cao Thi Chi (67 years old, An Chau commune) has been "sitting on hot coals" for nearly a year now because of the 1 billion VND she deposited at Kim Hoa gold shop. Ms. Chi said that in early November 2024, when she went to the gold shop to withdraw money, Ms. Ho Thi Hoa asked for an extension because she did not have it yet. "After that, Ms. Hoa wrote a paper, promising to pay me the full 1 billion VND with interest within 6 months. But when I came to the appointment, she only gave me 10 million VND, so I did not take it. When she saw me filing a complaint, she bargained to pay me 50 million VND," Ms. Chi said.

Deposit receipts with signature and seal of the gold shop. Photo: Tien Hung

Suspected asset disposal?

Not only Ms. Chi and Ms. Trieu, in Trung Song hamlet (An Chau commune) alone, nearly 30 people filed a complaint against the owner of Kim Hoa gold shop after failing to get their money back, with a total amount of more than 20 billion VND. Among them, many people deposited billions of VND, but many poor households, with only a small amount of money saved, also deposited it with the hope of earning some interest. Ms. Nguyen Thi An (36 years old, Trung Song hamlet, An Chau commune), is one of them.

Ms. An said that her husband works at sea, and she usually stays at home weaving fishing nets and taking care of their three children. Because of their difficult family situation, even though they have been married for a long time, they still do not have their own house and have to live with relatives. “After many years of saving, we were able to save more than 100 million VND and deposit it, but now we cannot get it back. This whole year, our lives have been turned upside down because for us, that is our entire fortune,” Ms. An said, sobbing.

Ms. An said that the amount of more than 100 million VND is her and her husband's entire fortune. Photo: Tien Hung

In the complaint, these people claimed that Ms. Ho Thi Hoa had moved assets to avoid paying the debt. “Previously, Ms. Hoa promised to pay gradually, but since she transferred all her assets to relatives, she has not paid me a single penny. When I asked for her money, she said she had nothing left, the gold shop and the house belonged to her eldest son. While we were in dire straits, they were still living in a 7-story villa,” said Ms. Phan Thi Trieu.

According to the reporter's investigation, since the incident, Kim Hoa gold shop has registered to transfer suspicious assets many times. Accordingly, before October 2024, Ms. Ho Thi Hoa had a capital contribution of nearly 70% in the gold shop, equivalent to more than 20 billion VND and was the legal representative of the gold shop. The remaining capital was in the name of her son. But on October 29, 2024, the capital contribution ratio was adjusted, accordingly, Ms. Hoa only had 1% of the capital, equivalent to 300 million VND. Ms. Hoa's son also only had 3% of the capital contribution. The entire remaining capital contribution was transferred to Ms. Hoa's daughter. In the adjustment on April 3, 2025, the legal representative of the gold shop was transferred from Ms. Hoa to her son. By April 15, 2025, Ms. Hoa withdrew all of her capital in the gold shop, causing the gold shop to be owned by her children.

“Previously, we trusted the gold shop and sent money to Ms. Hoa as the owner of the gold shop. But now when we come to claim it, the owner of the gold shop denies responsibility, saying that the mobilization of the deposit was Ms. Hoa’s and had nothing to do with the gold shop. Ms. Hoa said she had nothing left. We believe that this is an act of asset dissipation and abuse of trust to appropriate assets,” the petition sent to the authorities stated.

People who deposited money in the gold shop are filing a complaint. Photo: Tien Hung

Speaking to reporters, Ms. Ho Thi Hoa (66 years old, Dien Chau commune) confirmed that she received deposits from many households but could not remember the exact amount. “I then lent a large amount of money to someone but have not yet recovered it. That is why I am currently facing difficulties, but I did not say that I would not pay the people. I asked for a delay, to pay in installments, a little bit for each person,” Ms. Hoa said and refused to answer further questions about the recent suspicious transfer of her assets.

However, many people do not agree with Ms. Hoa's plan to pay in installments. "Ms. Hoa said she would pay in installments, but they kept asking for it, sometimes it took several months to pay 1 million or 5 million. We sent hundreds of millions to billions of dong, but if we keep paying each million, when will it be finished? So many people do not accept it. It's not that Ms. Hoa has no more money, the house and gold shop are still there, it's just transferred to her children's names," said Ms. Phan Thi Trieu.

Mr. Nguyen Van Loi - Chairman of Dien Chau Commune People's Committee said that the locality has also grasped the information about the incident. Many people have deposited money in the gold shop but the gold shop owner invested it somewhere and lost it, and has not recovered the capital. So many people came to demand their money. We have also directed the Commune Police to ensure security and order.

This is not the first time a similar incident has occurred. Previously, in 2018, Phuc Nhien gold shop in Bao Thanh commune (former Yen Thanh district, now Hop Minh commune), after receiving deposits from hundreds of households, declared that it was no longer able to pay. Although the assets were transferred to other people's names, the gold shop owner still used them. Later, Tam Nham gold shop (Quang Dong commune) also made a similar declaration after receiving deposits from hundreds of people. During the process of receiving deposits, these businesses gave people a type of self-printed savings book, similar in form to the type issued by banks. Inside the book, the deposit amount, deposit time, interest rate, etc. were recorded, with the signatures of both parties and the company's seal. These gold shop owners said that the reason was that the money that people deposited had been lent to others but could not be recovered. Since then, many people have often surrounded gold shops to pressure them to pay back their debts, but to no avail. Many clashes between gold shop owners and people have occurred, causing disorder and insecurity.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nguy-co-mat-tien-khi-gui-tiet-kiem-cho-tiem-vang-de-lay-lai-cao-10306438.html