Gold and silver prices fluctuate sharply, increased buying and selling demand leads to many forms of transactions arising in the market. Among them, many people buy gold but do not receive assets immediately, only hold "records of appointment", waiting to receive gold after many weeks, even months.
At first glance, this can be understood as a normal civil transaction, when the buyer pays first, and the seller hands over the property later according to the agreement. However, according to lawyer Mai Thi Thao - Deputy Director of TAT Law Firm, the worrying thing is not the paperwork form, but the actual nature of the transaction.
However, if the sale of gold but the delivery time is unusually extended, not linked to the actual gold supply capacity, or there are signs of using the money of the person who came later to pay the person who came earlier, then that transaction is no longer simply buying and selling assets.
In such cases, the nature of the transaction can be seen as a form of capital mobilization from residents, even disguised as borrowing assets" - lawyer Mai Thi Thao commented.
According to Ms. Thao, "paper gold", "paper silver" currently does not have a separate legal identification in the legal system. Current regulations such as Decree 24/2012/ND-CP mainly focus on managing gold business activities, production and import and export of gold, but have not directly adjusted the model of selling gold but not delivering it immediately.
However, the lack of separate regulations does not mean a gap for subjects to freely perform all forms of transactions. These types of transactions are still subject to the regulation of civil law, consumer protection law and may be considered from the perspective of capital mobilization if there are signs of distortion.
Lawyer Mai Thi Thao said that the biggest risk for buyers lies in the fact that they actually do not hold assets, but only hold a commitment to hand over assets in the future.
The first risk is real asset risk. It is possible that at the time of selling "paper gold", "paper silver", the seller does not have gold available for delivery. When the market fluctuates strongly or cash flow is interrupted, transactions may collapse.
Next is the liquidity risk. If many people come to receive gold and silver at the same time, the store may not be able to meet the demand, leading to the risk of losing chain payment capacity.
However, according to the lawyer, the most worrying risk is still legal risk. The buyer at that time does not have collateral, but is just a creditor without collateral. If a dispute occurs, especially in cases where the seller stops operating or loses the ability to pay, the buyer's rights will be very fragile.
However, the actual effectiveness of this measure still largely depends on the financial capacity of the seller. If the gold shop is no longer able to pay, judgment enforcement will also encounter many obstacles.
Lawyer Mai Thi Thao also noted that if from the beginning there are signs of fraud, for example, the seller is unable to deliver gold but still receives money, or uses money for the wrong purpose to appropriate it, the buyer may denounce acts showing signs of fraud and appropriation of property or abuse of trust to appropriate property.
However, criminal handling does not always mean that buyers can recover assets. Therefore, the most important factor is still risk prevention from the beginning.
From a legal perspective, lawyers recommend that people need to clearly understand that "paper gold" is not gold they are holding, but only a commitment to deliver gold in the future. Participating in these transactions always comes with certain risks.
People should only transact with reputable units with clear financial capacity; it is necessary to be especially cautious in cases of prolonging unusual delivery times or making unreasonable benefit commitments.
Agreements need to be made into clear contracts, specifically stipulating gold delivery terms, compensation responsibilities and sanctions in case of violation. However, even with a contract, buyers must still be aware that they are accepting a certain level of risk.
