What is crime of an accountant who reduces the price of items and gives gifts, then receives a deposit to repay the debt and runs away in Vietnam?

What is crime of an accountant who reduces the price of items and gives gifts, then receives a deposit to repay the debt and runs away in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 174 of the 2015 Penal Code as amended by Point c, Clause 3, Article 2 of the Law on Amendments to the Penal Code 2017 stipulates obtaining property by fraud as follows:

1. A person who uses deception to obtain another person's property which is assessed at from VND 2,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000 or property assessed at under VND 2,000,000 in any of the following circumstances shall face a penalty of up to 03 years' community sentence or 06 - 36 months' imprisonment:

a) The offender has incurred an administrative penalty for appropriation of property;

b) The offender has an unspent conviction for theft of property or any of the criminal offences specified in Article 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 175 and 290 hereof;

c) The offence has a negative impact on social safety, order and security;

d) The property illegally obtained is the primary means of livelihood of the victim and the victim's family.

2. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 02 - 07 years' imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offence is committed in a professional manner;

c) The property obtained is assessed at from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000;

d) Dangerous recidivism;

dd) The offence involves abuse of the offender's position or power or committed in the name of an agency or organization;

e) The offender employs deceitful methods to commit the offence;

3. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 07 - 15 years' imprisonment:

a) The property obtained is assessed at from VND 200,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

c) The offender takes advantage of a natural disaster or epidemic to commit the offence.

4. This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a penalty of 12 - 20 years' imprisonment or life imprisonment:

a) The property stolen is ≥ VND 500,000,000;

c) The offender takes advantage of a war or state of emergency to commit the offence.

5. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 200,000,000, be prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain works for 01 - 05 years or have all or part of his/her property confiscated.

According to this Article, this person has acts of using deception to obtain another person's property in Vietnam. Despite the company's deficit, this person still sharply reduced the price of items and gave gifts to receive a deposit. After receiving the deposit, the person paid the money to the creditors and then left the house to hide.

This person's behavior shows signs of obtaining property by fraud. With an amount of more than 110 billion VND, this person will be sentenced to between 12 and 20 years in prison or life in prison in Vietnam.

At the same time, she may also be subject to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 100,000,000, a ban from holding certain posts, practicing certain professions or doing certain jobs for 1 to 5 years, or having all or part of her property confiscated in Vietnam. 

Can an accountant who uses deception to obtain another person's property have their accounting practicing certificates revoked in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 23 of Circular 91/2017/TT-BTC stipulating revocation of audit practicing certificates and accounting practicing certificates as follows:

1. An audit practicing certificate or accounting practicing certificate shall be revoked in any of the following cases:

a) Untruthful working experience was declared in the application for the purpose of taking examination to obtain the audit practicing certificate or accounting practicing certificate.

b) Correct, forge or cheat academic credentials, certificates for the purposes of taking examination to obtain the audit practicing certificate or accounting practicing certificate.

c) Take someone else’s exam or ask someone else to take your exam in the examination to obtain the audit practicing certificate or accounting practicing certificate.

d) Other cases as per the law.

2. The Ministry of Finance has power to revoke audit practicing certificates and accounting practicing certificates.

Thus, an accountant who uses deception to obtain another person's property may not be allowed to practice as an accountant for 1 to 5 years in Vietnam.

Who are prohibited from practicing accounting in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 52 of the 2015 Accounting Law, people prohibited from practicing accounting:

The following people are prohibited from practicing accounting:

1. Minors; people who completely or partly lose their civil capacity as declared by the court; people forcibly sent to reform schools or rehabilitation centers.

2. People banned from practicing accounting under an effective court’s judgment or decision; people undergoing criminal prosecution; people sentenced to imprisonment or were convicted of economic crimes or other crimes related to finance, accounting and have not had their criminal records expunged.

3. Parents, adoptive parents, spouses, children, siblings of the legal representative, head, Director, General Director, deputies of the head, Deputy Director, Deputy General Director in charge of finance – accounting, and the chief accountant of the same accounting unit, except for private enterprises, single-member limited liability companies owned by individuals, and other cases specified by the Government.

4. People holding the position of managers, executive officers, treasurers, warehouse-keepers, buyers or sellers of assets in the same accounting unit except for private enterprises, single-member limited liability companies owned by individuals, and other cases specified by the Government.

According to Article 19 of Decree 174/2016/ND-CP, people prohibited from practicing accounting are as follows:

1. The people specified in Clause 1 and Clause 2 Article 52 of the Law on Accounting.

2. Parents, adoptive parents, spouses, children, siblings of the legal representative, head, Director, General Director, deputies of the head, Deputy Director, Deputy General Director in charge of finance – accounting, and the chief accountant of the same accounting unit, except for sole proprietorships, single-member limited liability companies owned by individuals, other types of enterprises not funded by state budget and are extra-small enterprises defined in the law on provision of assistance for small and medium enterprises.

3. People holding the position of managers, executive officers, treasurers, warehouse-keepers, buyers or sellers of assets in the same accounting unit except for sole proprietorships, single-member limited liability companies owned by individuals, and other types of enterprises not funded by state budget and are extra-small enterprises defined in the law on provision of assistance for small and medium enterprises.

According to current regulations in Vietnam, the people listed above will not be able to work as accountants.

Best regards!