Money laundering (Article 324 of the Penal Code) is one of the most severely and precisely tiered offences among economic crimes — applicable to both individuals and commercial legal entities. This article compiles the complete sentencing table, quantitative thresholds and commonly confused technical points, under the currently applicable law.
1. The currently applicable version of Article 324
Article 324 was amended by item 122 of Article 1 of Law No. 12/2017/QH14. Law No. 86/2025/QH15 (effective 1 July 2025) did not amend Article 324 — the applicable text is Penal Code 100/2015/QH13 plus Law 12/2017/QH14 (consolidated in Consolidated Document 135/VBHN-VPQH of 2025).
Note on temporal application (Article 7 of the Penal Code): conduct before 1 January 2018 is governed by the corresponding old law.
2. Sentencing for individuals
| Clause | Penalty | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Clause 1 | 1–5 years’ imprisonment | Any of: (a) directly or indirectly participating in financial, banking or other transactions to conceal the illegal origin of money or assets derived from crime; (b) using criminal proceeds in business or other activities; (c) concealing information about origin, true nature, location, movement or ownership of criminal proceeds, or obstructing verification; (d) committing any of the above in relation to money or assets known or having grounds to know to be derived from another person’s crime (the statutory term of point (d)) |
| Clause 2 | 5–10 years’ imprisonment | Committed in an organised manner; abusing position or authority; committed twice or more; of a professional nature; using sophisticated, cunning tricks; criminal money/assets of VND 200 million to under 500 million; illicit gains of VND 50 million to under 100 million; dangerous recidivism |
| Clause 3 | 10–15 years’ imprisonment | Criminal money/assets of VND 500 million or more; illicit gains of VND 100 million or more; adversely affecting the safety of the national financial and monetary system |
| Clause 4 | 6 months–3 years’ imprisonment | Preparation of the offence |
| Clause 5 (supplementary) | — | Fine of VND 20–100 million; ban from holding office, practising or performing certain work for 1–5 years; or confiscation of part or all of property |
Current quantitative thresholds: VND 200–under 500 million (clause 2), VND 500 million or more (clause 3) — cite the post-Law 12/2017 version, not the original 2015 Penal Code thresholds.
3. Sentencing for commercial legal entities
Article 324 falls under Article 76 of the Penal Code — commercial legal entities bear criminal liability for money laundering. The framework at Article 324(6):
| Case | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Clause 1 (Article 324(6)(a)) | Fine of VND 1–5 billion |
| Clause 2 (point (b)) — circumstances at points (a), (c), (d), (dd), (e), (g), (h) of clause 2 | Fine of VND 5–10 billion |
| Clause 3 (point (c)) | Fine of VND 10–20 billion or suspension of operations for 1–3 years |
| Cases falling under Article 79 (point (d)) | Permanent suspension of operations |
| Supplementary (point (dd)) | Fine of VND 1–5 billion; ban from business, ban from operating in certain sectors or ban from raising capital for 1–3 years |
Key technical points:
- Article 324(6)(b) excludes point (b) of clause 2 (“abusing position or authority”) — an individual circumstance, not applied to the legal-entity framework;
- “Permanent suspension of operations” does NOT apply to every clause-3 case for legal entities — only where the case falls under Article 79 of the Penal Code;
- Resolution 03/2019/NQ-HDTP guides the application of Article 324 — cross-check qualifying/aggravating circumstances only where necessary; do not cite indiscriminately.
4. Relationship with predicate offences
Money laundering is a “follow-on” offence to predicate crimes: there must be money or assets derived from crime (fraud, embezzlement, bribery, gambling, smuggling, etc.) followed by the “laundering” conduct. A predicate offender “laundering” their own proceeds (“self-laundering”) still constitutes the independent offence of money laundering.
Conclusion
The Article 324 framework is clearly tiered: individuals from preparation (6 months–3 years) to clause 3 (10–15 years) plus supplementary penalties; legal entities from fines of VND 1 billion up to permanent suspension. Quantitative thresholds and the list of aggravating circumstances must be cited from the current version (post-Law 12/2017); technical points such as the exclusion of clause 2 point (b) from the legal-entity framework and the Article 79 condition for permanent suspension must be applied precisely.
Note: This article is for reference only and is not legal advice. Each specific case must be assessed on its own facts, evidence and applicable law — please consult a lawyer for detailed advice.
For reference only, not legal advice. Content quality-checked by the AI Legal Council; not yet reviewed by a human lawyer.
