What are penalties for the crime of embezzlement of assets in Vietnam? What are judgments on this case?

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1. What are penalties for the crime of embezzlement of assets in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Article 353 Criminal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017) regarding the crime of embezzlement of property:

(1) Basic framework penalties:

- Imprisonment from 02 years to 07 years: Any person who exploits their position, authority to appropriate property under their management valued from 2,000,000 VND to less than 100,000,000 VND or less than 2,000,000 VND but falls into one of the following cases:

+ Previously dealt with disciplinary measures for this act but still violated;

+ Previously convicted of one of the crimes specified in Section 1, Chapter XXIII of the Criminal Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017), who have not had their criminal records expunged but still committed violations.

(2) Aggravated penalties:

- Imprisonment from 07 years to 15 years: Committing the crime under one of the following circumstances:

+ Organized;

+ Using cunning and dangerous methods;

+ Committing the crime 02 times or more;

+ Appropriating property valued from 100,000,000 VND to less than 500,000,000 VND;

+ Appropriating money or property intended for poverty eradication, the incentives for people with work contributions to the revolution; various reserve funds or money, property subsidies, contributions for disaster-stricken areas, epidemic areas, or particularly difficult economic areas;

+ Causing property damage from 1,000,000,000 VND to less than 3,000,000,000 VND;

+ Adversely affecting the lives of officials and public employees and workers in the agency or organization.

- Imprisonment from 15 years to 20 years: Committing the crime under one of the following circumstances:

+ Appropriating property valued from 500,000,000 VND to less than 1,000,000,000 VND;

+ Causing property damage from 3,000,000,000 VND to less than 5,000,000,000 VND;

+ Adversely affecting public security, order, and social safety;

+ Leading to the bankruptcy or discontinuation of enterprises or other organizations.

- Committing the crime under one of the following cases, shall be sentenced to 20 years, life imprisonment, or death:

+ Appropriating property valued 1,000,000,000 VND or more;

+ Causing property damage of 5,000,000,000 VND or more.

(3) Additional penalties: The offender is also prohibited from holding certain positions from 01 year to 05 years, may be fined from 30,000,000 VND to 100,000,000 VND, and have part or all of their property confiscated.

In addition, persons with positions and rights in enterprises and non-state organizations who commit embezzlement of property, shall be handled according to the said regulations.

Therefore, depending on the nature and severity of the criminal act, the embezzlement of property will be addressed with corresponding penalties under the law. The minimum imprisonment is from 02 years to 07 years, while cases with significant severity will face higher imprisonment levels, ranging from 7 years to 20 years, life imprisonment, or death.

2. What are judgments on the crime of embezzlement of property in Vietnam?

Judgment on the crime of embezzlement of property No. 24/2022/HS-ST

- Trial level: First instance.

- Adjudicating authority: People's Court of Ea H'leo district, Dak Lak province.

- Quoted content: Defendant Nguyen Xuan T was elected as the head of A village, E commune, EH district, Dak Lak province in 2020. During 2020, T was assigned to collect State taxes, fees, and voluntary contributions from residents in the village. The total amount collected by T was 82,590,000 VND. Among this, 10,730,000 VND was State tax and fees, of which T paid 10,635,000 VND and appropriated 95,000 VND. Additionally, T appropriated 3,136,000 VND from the Study Encouragement Association, 3,344,000 VND from the Red Cross Society, and 33,730,000 VND from the village fund.

The total amount misappropriated by the defendant was 40,305,000 VND.

- Trial results: Defendant Nguyen Xuan T was sentenced to 01 (one) year 08 (eight) months in prison for the crime of embezzlement of property.

Judgment on the crime of embezzlement of property No. 50/2022/HS-ST

- Trial level: First instance.

- Adjudicating authority: People’s Court of city T, province Q.

- Quoted content: Defendant Nguyen Q was a sales employee of H Manufacturing - Trading Co., Ltd. From September 2020 to February 2021, Q multiple times misappropriated debt money from 25 customers after collecting funds from these customers.

The total misappropriated amount by the defendant Q was 481,458,232 VND.

- Trial results: Defendant Nguyen Q was sentenced to 07 (Seven) years in prison for the crime of “Embezzlement of property”.

Judgment on the crime of embezzlement of property No. 06/2020/HSST

- Trial level: First instance.

- Adjudicating authority: People's Court of NL district, Thanh Hoa province.

- Quoted content: In July 2017, Lam Son village, Ngoc Son commune agreed to build rural traffic works, level the ground of the cultural house, and pour concrete for the cultural house premises. Mr. Pham Truong K was assigned the task of collecting and paying for the construction works. The total amount received was 361,757,000 VND, including 45 million VND provided by the State support.

Mr. K paid 283,497,000 VND to contractors and for other village activities.

The remaining 78,260,000 VND was appropriated by Mr. K for personal use without the village's consent.

- Trial results: Defendant Pham Truong K was sentenced to 36 (Thirty-six) months in prison for the crime of “Embezzlement of property”.

Judgment on the crime of embezzlement of property No. 116/2021/HS-ST

- Trial level: First instance.

- Adjudicating authority: People's Court of Quang Ngai city, Quang Ngai province.

- Quoted content: Defendant Nguyen The D was a sales employee of H Production - Trading Co., Ltd.

From February 02, 2021, to February 05, 2021, D collected debt money from 20 customers, totaling 98,983,608 VND but did not remit it to the company, appropriating it for personal purposes and investing in virtual currencies via the Internet.

- Trial results: Defendant Nguyen The D was sentenced to 24 months in prison with a suspended sentence for the crime of “Embezzlement of property”.

Judgment on the crime of embezzlement of property No. 81/2022/HS-ST

- Trial level: First instance.

- Adjudicating authority: People's Court of V district, Dong Nai province.

- Quoted content: Defendant Tran Thi T was an employee of T Express Delivery Co., Ltd, responsible for collecting and remitting customer payments to the company.

On February 14, 2022, defendant T collected 328,905,933 VND from customers but did not remit it to the company, instead lent it to someone named Viet.

Upon discovery, T surrendered to the police and admitted to the crime.

- Trial results: Defendant Tran Thi T was sentenced to 03 (three) years in prison for the crime of “Embezzlement of property”.

Respectfully!

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