How is the Crime of Fraudulent Appropriation of Property Handled? Some Related Judgments

1. How is the crime of fraudulently appropriating property handled?

Fraud has become a pressing issue and is on the rise in Vietnam, causing significant property and psychological damage to citizens.

According to Article 174 of the Vietnam Criminal Code 2015 (revised and supplemented in 2017), in Vietnam, the crime of fraudulently appropriating property is handled according to the following penalty framework:

- Basic framework: Non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years for one of the following cases:

+ Property valued between 2,000,000 VND and under 50,000,000 VND

+ Property valued under 2,000,000 VND but falls under one of the following cases: Has been administratively sanctioned for the act of appropriating property and still violates; Has been convicted of this crime or one of the crimes specified in Articles 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 175, and 290 of the Vietnam Criminal Code 2015 (revised and supplemented in 2017), has not had the criminal record expunged and still violates; Causes adverse effects on security, order, and social safety; The property is the primary means of livelihood of the victim and their family.

- Second framework: Imprisonment from 2 years to 7 years for one of the following cases:

+ Organized crime;

+ Professional nature;

+ Appropriates property valued between 50,000,000 VND and under 200,000,000 VND;

+ Dangerous recidivism;

+ Taking advantage of position, authority, or the name of an agency, organization;

+ Using deceitful tricks;

- Third framework: Imprisonment from 7 years to 15 years for one of the following cases:

+ Appropriates property valued between 200,000,000 VND and under 500,000,000 VND;

+ Exploiting natural disasters or epidemics.

- Fourth framework: Imprisonment from 12 years to 20 years or life imprisonment for one of the following cases:

+ Appropriates property valued at 500,000,000 VND or more;

+ Exploiting war situations or emergency conditions.

- Additional penalty: The offender can also be fined from 10,000,000 VND to 100,000,000 VND, prohibited from holding certain positions, practicing certain professions, or performing certain jobs from 1 year to 5 years, or partially or fully forfeiting personal property.

If the act of fraudulently appropriating property in Vietnam aims to appropriate an amount of 2,000,000 VND or more, the individual may be criminally liable under the framework of non-custodial reform for up to 3 years or imprisonment from 6 months to 3 years.

Additionally, in Vietnam, if the act of fraudulently appropriating property does not reach the level of criminal liability, it can be administratively sanctioned according to the provisions of Article 15 of the Decree 144/2021/ND-CP.

2. Some judgments related to the crime of fraudulently appropriating property

Below are some judgments related to the crime of fraudulently appropriating property adjudicated in Vietnam:

Judgment on the crime of fraudulently appropriating property No. 13/2021/HS-ST

Level of adjudication: First instance

Adjudicating body: People's Court of Que Vo District, Bac Ninh Province

Citation of content: At about 8:00 PM, on August 6, 2021, at the gate area of Que Vo III industrial park, Guot village, Viet Hung commune, Que Vo district, Bac Ninh province, Ha Ngoc A committed fraud to make Thao Seo T trust and loan one Vsmart brand mobile phone, blue color, Imei: 358877981357055, valued at 1,300,000 VND, and one Honda Wave RSX brand motorcycle, gray-black, license plate 24B2 - xxxxx, valued at 12,000,000 VND. After appropriating T's property, Ngoc A pawned the above-mentioned mobile phone for 1,200,000 VND and pawned the motorcycle for 3,000,000 VND for personal use.

Judgment on the crime of fraudulently appropriating property No. 15/2023/HS-ST

Level of adjudication: First instance

Adjudicating body: People's Court of Pl District, Bl Province

Citation of content: Due to the desire for personal spending money, at about 11:30 AM on July 15, 2021, the defendant K committed fraud to appropriate 60,800,000 VND from the victim TBA. At the trial, the defendant admitted his crime and requested the Trial Council to reduce the sentence.

Judgment on the crime of fraudulently appropriating property No. 39/2021/HS-ST

Level of adjudication: First instance

Adjudicating body: People's Court of Dak Mil District, Dak Nong Province

Citation of content: By fraudulent means in the form of composing fake messages indicating money has been transferred to the account of Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy H to create trust, the defendant appropriated a total amount of 18,500,000 VND (eighteen million, five hundred thousand VND) from Ms. H, specifically: on January 3, 2021, the defendant appropriated 15,000,000 VND from Ms. H; on January 4, 2021, the defendant appropriated 3,000,000 VND from Ms. H; and on January 7, 2021, the defendant appropriated 500,000 VND from Ms. H.

Respectfully!

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