Short answer: Embezzlement (Article 353 of the Penal Code, consolidated text 135/VBHN-VPQH — Article 353 is the correct number, in Section 1 of Chapter XXIII on corruption offences, unchanged through the amendments) carries penalties from 02–07 years’ imprisonment (clause 1) to 20 years’ imprisonment or life imprisonment (clause 4). From 1 July 2025, the death penalty for embezzlement has been abolished under Article 1(22) of Law 86/2025/QH15 — any source still citing “death penalty” is outdated.
1. Current penalty framework (after Law 86/2025)
Clause 1 — 02–07 years’ imprisonment
A person who abuses their position or powers to appropriate property under their management responsibility, where:
- The value is from VND 2,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000; or
- The value is under VND 2,000,000 but the offender: (a) has been disciplined for this act and reoffends; or (b) has been convicted of one of the offences in Section 1 of this Chapter, with the conviction not yet expunged, and reoffends.
Note on the VND 2 million threshold: below the threshold, the offence is only constituted with a prior record under clause 1(a)(b) — do not state absolutely that “embezzlement under 2 million is not punished.”
Clause 2 — 07–15 years’ imprisonment
Where the offence involves: organisation; cunning or dangerous tricks; commission 02 or more times; appropriation of VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000; appropriation of money or property earmarked for poverty reduction, allowances or preferential treatment for meritorious persons, reserve funds, or relief for natural disasters, epidemics or areas with exceptionally difficult socio-economic conditions; causing property damage of VND 1,000,000,000 to under VND 3,000,000,000; or adversely affecting the livelihood of cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers.
Clause 3 — 15–20 years’ imprisonment
Appropriation of VND 500,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000; causing property damage of VND 3,000,000,000 to under VND 5,000,000,000; adversely affecting security, order and social safety; or causing another enterprise or organisation to go bankrupt or cease operations.
Clause 4 — 20 years’ imprisonment or life imprisonment
Appropriation of VND 1,000,000,000 or more; or causing property damage of VND 5,000,000,000 or more. There is NO death penalty — the former mandatory death-penalty point was abolished by Law 86/2025/QH15 (adopted 25 June 2025, effective 1 July 2025) under Article 1(22), one of 8 offences with the death penalty removed: 109, 110, 114, 194, 250, 353, 354, 421.
Note: during deliberation, proposals to raise clause 4 to “20–30 years” and raise the thresholds to 2 billion/10 billion were NOT adopted by the National Assembly. The current thresholds are 1 billion / 5 billion.
Clause 5 — additional penalties
Offenders may also be: banned from holding certain positions for 01–05 years; fined VND 60,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 (increased from the pre-1/7/2025 range of 30–100 million); and have part or all of their property confiscated.
Clause 6 — extended to the non-state sector
Persons holding positions or powers in non-state enterprises and organisations who embezzle property are handled under this Article.
2. Transitional provision (Law 86/2025)
Death sentences pronounced before 1 July 2025 for the 8 offences above (including Articles 353 and 354) that have not yet been executed shall not be executed; the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court decides on commutation to life imprisonment.
Consequence at Article 40(3) of the Penal Code: there are now only 03 cases where the death penalty is not executed — (1) pregnant women or women nursing children under 36 months; (2) persons aged 75 or older; (3) persons with terminal cancer. The old point (c) (“returning at least 3/4 of embezzled/bribed assets”) has been abolished — there is no longer a “return 3/4 of assets to escape the death penalty” route.
3. No statute of limitations for judgment enforcement (Article 61 Penal Code)
No limitation period applies to the enforcement of judgments for clauses 3 and 4 of Article 353 (and Article 354).
4. Elements of the offence
- Object: property-ownership relations + the proper functioning of agencies and organisations (a corruption-group offence — dual infringement).
- Subject: a special subject — a person holding a position or powers with responsibility for managing the appropriated property; extended to the non-state sector (clause 6).
- Objective aspect: abusing position or powers to appropriate property under one’s management responsibility; the quantitative threshold starts at VND 2,000,000 (below the threshold, the offence is only constituted with a prior record — clause 1(a)(b)).
- Subjective aspect: intentional fault (direct), with the purpose of appropriation and self-enrichment.
Distinctions: embezzlement (Article 353 — appropriating property one manages) differs from abuse of position or powers to appropriate property (Article 355) and from irresponsibility causing serious consequences (Article 360). And: a legal entity cannot commit embezzlement — Article 353 is not in the Article 76 list.
Example (illustrative scenario): A company’s chief accountant abuses their fund-management authority to withdraw a total of VND 600 million for personal spending. This bears the hallmarks of embezzlement under Article 353: a special subject (position with property-management responsibility), the objective act of appropriating managed property, and a value of 600 million falling under clause 3 (500 million to under 1 billion) → a 15–20-year imprisonment range.
5. Mitigation in practice
Voluntarily returning or remedying assets is a mitigating circumstance (Article 51(1)(b) of the Penal Code) and may lead to exemption from punishment under Article 59 — but it does not “erase the offence.”
Need legal assistance? If you or a relative faces embezzlement or other corruption charges, contact FLAT Law Firm for timely advice and defence.
Note: This article is under internal review.
For reference only, not legal advice. Content quality-checked by the AI Legal Council; not yet reviewed by a human lawyer.