If I have been to prison, can I be a member of the Board of Controllers of a company in Vietnam?
I used to be in prison for intentionally causing injury, now I have completed my sentence and have my criminal record cleared. Now I have been nominated by a friend to work at the Board of Controllers of a joint stock company. Is it eligible for a case like mine?
If I have been to prison, can I be a member of the Board of Controllers of a joint-stock company in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 169 of the Law on Enterprises 2020, requirements to be satisfied by Controllers are as follows:
1. A Controller shall satisfy the following standards and requirements:
a) He/she is not in one of the persons specified in Clause 2 Article 17 of this Law;
b) His/her major is economics, finance, accounting, audit, law, business administration or a major that is relevant to the enterprise’s business operation;
c) He/she is not a relative of any of the members of the Board of Directors, Director/General Director and other executives;
d) He/she is not the company’s executive, is not necessarily a shareholder or employee of the company unless otherwise prescribed by the company's charter;
dd) Other standards and requirements are satisfied as prescribed by law and the company's charter.
Thus, the above conditions must be satisfied to be able to become a member of the Board of Controllers of a joint-stock company in Vietnam.
According to Point e, Clause 2, Article 17 of the Law on Enterprises 2020, the following cases are prohibited from participating in and managing enterprises:
2. The following organizations and individuals do not have the right to establish and manage enterprises in Vietnam:
a) State authorities, People’s armed forces using state-owned assets to establish enterprises to serve their own interests;
b) Officials and public employees defined by the Law on Officials and the Law on Public Employees;
c) Commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers, career military personnel, military workers and public employees in agencies and units of Vietnam People’s Army; commissioned officers, non-commissioned officers and police workers in police authorities and units, except for those designated and authorized representatives to manage state-owned stakes in enterprises or to manage state-owned enterprises;
d) Executive officers and managers of state-owned enterprises prescribed in Point a Clause 1 Article 88 of this Law, except those who are designated as authorized representatives to manage state-owned stakes in other enterprises;
dd) Minors; people with limited legal capacity; incapacitated people; people having difficulties controlling their behaviors; organizations that are not juridical persons;
e) People who are facing criminal prosecution, kept in temporary detention, serving an imprisonment sentence, serving an administrative penalty in a correctional institution or rehabilitation center, has limited legal capacity or is incapacitated, is not able to control his/her own behaviors, is banned by the court from holding certain positions or doing certain works; other cases prescribed by the Law on Bankruptcy and the Anti-corruption Law.
If requested by the business registration authority, the applicant shall submit the judicial records;
g) Juridical persons that are banned from business operation or banned from certain fields as prescribed by the Criminal Code.
In your case, you had completed serving the prison sentence and had his judicial record cleared, so he was not in the prohibited cases as prescribed. Therefore, when you meet the remaining conditions specified in Clause 1, Article 169 of the Enterprise Law 2020, you can become a member of the Board of Controller of a joint stock company in Vietnam.
Best Regards!
