Penalties for Destroying Vietnamese Currency

On June 15, 2016, a Chinese guest engaged in the act of burning Vietnamese currency with a denomination of 200,000 VND. According to Vietnamese law, this is an act of destroying Vietnamese currency regardless of the form it takes. This is one of the prohibited acts explicitly stated in the efforts to combat, prevent, and suppress counterfeit money activities; possession, transportation, circulation of counterfeit money; and destruction of Vietnamese currency.

To be specific, Clause 2, Article 3, Decision 130/2003/QD-TTg stipulates:

Prohibited acts:

1. Making counterfeit money, transporting, possessing, circulating, buying, or selling counterfeit money.
2. Destroying Vietnamese currency by any means.
3. Copying Vietnamese currency for any purpose without prior written consent from the State Bank.
4. Refusing to accept, circulate money issued by the State Bank within the territory of Vietnam.

Before 2000, individuals who destroyed currency could be sentenced to imprisonment under Vietnamese criminal law. However, currently, they are only subject to administrative penalties. Individuals who destroy Vietnamese currency can still be fined from 10,000,000 to 15,000,000 VND, applicable to both domestic and foreign individuals and organizations. This is stipulated in Article 2, Clause 3, Article 31 of Decree 96/2014/ND-CP.

Regarding the TV Club bar accepting payment in Renminbi from a group of Chinese guests, as per Clause 16, Article 4 of Circular 32/2013/TT-NHNN, non-residents are only allowed to use foreign currency within the territory of Vietnam in two cases:

- Transferring foreign currency to another non-resident;- Setting contract prices in foreign currency and paying for exported goods and services in foreign currency by transfer to residents. Residents can quote prices, set prices in foreign currency, and receive payment in foreign currency by transfer when providing goods and services to non-residents.

Outside these two cases, residents are not allowed to use foreign currency within the territory of Vietnam. Otherwise, depending on the nature and extent of the violation, they will be dealt with according to the law.

To be specific, as stipulated at Point c, Clause 6, Article 24 of Decree 96/2014/ND-CP, the act of "transacting, quoting prices, determining prices, recording prices in contracts, agreements, posting, advertising prices of goods, services, land use rights in foreign currency not compliant with the law" will be fined from 200,000,000 to 250,000,000 VND, and the foreign currency involved in the violation will be confiscated.

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