Collection of judgments on buying property obtained by crime in Vietnam

Hello Mr. Phong, for your request, LAWNET would like to give you the following information:

Pursuant to Article 323 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam, penalties for buying property obtained by crime are specified as follows:

“Article 323. Storing or buying property obtained by crime

1. Any person who, without prior promise, stores or buys a piece of property in the knowledge that it is obtained through another person's commission of a crime shall be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 03 - 07 years' imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offence is committed in a professional manner;

c) The illegal piece of property is assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000;

d) The illegal profit earned is from VND 20,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000;

dd) Dangerous recidivism.

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 07 - 10 years' imprisonment:

a) The illegal piece of property is assessed at from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000;

b) The illegal profit earned is from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000.

4. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 10 - 15 years' imprisonment:

a) The illegal piece of property is assessed at ≥ VND 1,000,000,000;

b) The illegal profit earned is ≥ VND 300,000,000;

5. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 5,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 or have all or part of his/her property confiscated.”

Concurrently, according to guidelines of Clause 1 and 2 Article 1 of the Joint Circular No. 09/2011/TTLT-BCA-BQP-BTP-NHNNVN-VKSNDTC-TANDTC:

“1. “Property obtained by crime” is property obtained by the offender directly from the commission of a crime (ex: property appropriated, embezzlement, bribe, etc.) or obtained by the offender from the sale or exchange of property directly obtained from his/her commission of the crime (ex: motorbikes are obtained from using embezzled money to buy).

2. “Knowing that the property is obtained by crime” means having grounds to prove that the property is obtained directly from the person committing the crime or obtained from the sale or exchange of property directly obtained from the person who committed the crime.”

II. Some judgments on buying property obtained by crime

1. Judgment No. 15/2021/HS-ST on buying property obtained by crime

- Trial level: Instance

- Trial agency: People's Court of T District, Ha Noi City

- An extract from the judgment: “Around October 2018, K and his brother Do Van B, born in 1990, rented a house at the address 10B, sub-alley 14, alley 58, lane 38 X, T, Hanoi. On July 19, 2020, K and B let Hoang Van H, born in 1995 stay in the house. During the time of sharing a motel room, K saw that H often brought strange motorbikes to the motel room, K did not remember specifically each license plate. H said that H specializes in selling undocumented cars. Around July 2020, H brought home a Wave motorbikes (K didn't remember the number plate) and posted it online to find a buyer for VND 3 million, so K asked to buy it for the purpose of riding a motorbike taxi. H told K that the motorbike was stolen by H, so there was no document, but K still agreed to buy it and discussed with H to change the license plate to avoid the police finding out that the motorbike was stolen property. After that, K bought the control plate 88F9–xx at T street, Hoan Kiem district for VND 250,000 and installed it in the motorbike.”

- Result of settlement: Sentenced to Do Quoc K 08 months in prison but suspended sentence.

2. Judgment No. 271/2021/HSST on buying property obtained by crime

- Trial level: Instance

- Trial agency: People's Court of Hai Ba Trung District, Ha Noi City

- An extract from the judgment: “Le Van T has a familiar relationship with T1 due to selling scrap metal together. In July 2001, T1 asked T to go with him to sell a Honda motorbike, BKS: 31-820 ... without papers. T knows the origin of the motorbike stolen by T1 in the Nghia Tan market area, Cau Giay district, Hanoi. T agreed and took T1 to meet Mr. Nguyen Van H to find someone who wanted to buy the motorbike. H took T and T1 to meet M to ask M to sell the motorcycle on his behalf, M agreed. T and T1 took the motorbike to the house for M to check, then T1 asked T to give M a Motorola branded mobile phone in the trunk of the motorbike. T told M this phone belongs to T, asking M to sell it for him. After completing the transaction, T receives an amount of VND 1,300,000 from M, this is the amount obtained by M selling the phone. T gives T1 VND 1,000,000 and keeps VND 300,000 for personal consumption. A few days later, T heard that M was arrested for being involved in the sale and purchase of a stolen motorbike, fearing that his actions would be discovered. T had fled to E, Dak Lak, where he has lived since then.”

- Result of settlement: Le Van T was sentenced to 8 months in prison.

3. Judgment No. 352/2021/HS-ST on buying property obtained by crime

- Trial level: Instance

- Trial agency: People's Court of District, B Province

- An extract from the judgment: “On June 24, 2021, defendant Nhu Dinh Quoc T performed the act of driving a Honda Wave motorcycle with license plate number 67L5-XXX owned by Ms. Bui Thi N, which was stolen at address 1/500, neighborhood H, ward Y, city T to consume, he was patrolled by the traffic police force of the city police on Huynh Van Cu street in Chanh Loc 7 quarter, Chanh My ward, city Th, province B discovered and brought to the office. Defendant Nhu Dinh Quoc T knew that the motorcycle with license plate number 67L5-XXX had been obtained by committing a crime, but still agreed to take it away to sell to subject "C" to receive a salary of VND 600,000. According to the conclusion of the Property Valuation Council in the criminal proceedings of City T, it was determined that 01 Honda Wave motorcycle with license plate number 67L5-XXX worth VND 13,500,000.”

- Result of settlement: Sentenced defendant Nhu Dinh Quoc T to 1 year and 6 months in prison.

4. Judgment No. 74/2022/HSST on buying property obtained by crime

- Trial level: Instance

- Trial agency: People's Court of My Tho City, Tien Giang Province

- An extract from the judgment: “The defendant mortgaged a red-black Airblade motorcycle with license plate number 63P1.xx and a motorcycle with Blade brand name in black white red with license plate number 62T1-xxx despite knowing it was stolen by Nguyen Minh T2 on June 19, 2021 and July 09, 2021 to make benefit. The defendant's confession of guilt is consistent with the contents of the indictment, the testimony of the victim, the person with related interests and obligations, the witness, and the documents and evidences collected during the investigation contained in the case file. Thus, there are enough grounds to conclude that defendant Bui Anh D is guilty of buying property obtained by crime with the total value of the pledged property is 02 motorbikes of VND 39,969,000, the illegal profit is VND 1,000,000, so the crime and punishment are specified in Clause 1, Article 323 of the Criminal Code.”

- Result of settlement: Defendant Bui Anh D was sentenced to 10 months and 25 days in prison.

5. Judgment No. 284/2021/HSPT on buying property obtained by crime

- Trial level: Appellate

- Trial agency: People's Court of Dak Lak Province

- An extract from the judgment: “due to a sense of disregard for the law, wanting to gain illicit profits, on the morning of April 25, 2021, although defendant N knew Nguyen Manh H well, he brought a hand-held angle grinder, brand Makita; 01 concrete chisel, Hitachi Koki brand; 01 concrete chisel, Makita brand (with a total value of VND 6,897,000) is stolen property but defendant N still commits acts of consuming H's stolen property.”

- Result of settlement: Defendant Le Thi A T was sentenced to 09 months in prison.

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