The question “can a company commit money laundering” has a short answer: YES — but the legal mechanism behind it is not simple. This article answers fully: under what conditions a legal entity is deemed to have committed the crime, why Article 324 is within scope while many other crimes are not, what the specific penalties are, how corporate liability differs from that of executives and employees, and how proceedings against legal entities work.
1. Short answer: YES — because Article 324 is in the Article 76 list
Commercial legal entities bear criminal liability for money laundering because Article 324 is among the 33 crimes listed in Article 76 of the Penal Code. The verbatim list ends with “…188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 200, 203, 209, 210, 211, 213, 216, 217, 225, 226, 227, 232, 234, 235, 237, 238, 239, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 300 and 324…”. The list is unchanged after Law 86/2025/QH15 (Law 86/2025 did not amend Articles 75, 76 or 324).
An important comparison: bribe-giving (Article 364) is NOT in Article 76 — a legal entity bears no criminal liability for bribe-giving, but DOES bear it for money laundering (Article 324). And only commercial legal entities bear criminal liability; non-commercial legal entities (state agencies, political organisations, etc.) are outside the scope.
2. Conditions for a legal entity’s criminal liability (Article 75)
A commercial legal entity is deemed to have committed a crime when all four conditions are simultaneously met:
- The act was committed in the name of the legal entity;
- The act was committed for the benefit of the legal entity;
- The act was committed under the direction, management or approval of the legal entity;
- The statute of limitations for criminal prosecution has not expired (Article 27).
Illustrative example (not a real case): an employee unilaterally uses the company’s account to move criminal proceeds without the company’s direction or approval, and not for the company’s benefit → no criminal liability for the legal entity; only the individual employee is liable. Conversely, if company management directs the use of the company to “legalise” criminal money flows → the legal entity may be prosecuted.
Under Clause 2, Article 75, a legal entity’s criminal liability does not exclude the criminal liability of individuals — both the entity and the individuals who directly committed the act (the directing executive, the implementing employee) are handled concurrently. There is no distinction between domestic and FDI companies: the rules apply equally to all commercial legal entities.
3. Penalties for legal entities committing money laundering (Clause 6, Article 324)
Clause 6 of Article 324 provides penalties specifically for commercial legal entities (verbatim, cross-checked):
- (a) Where the offence falls under Clause 1: a fine of VND 01–05 billion;
- (b) Where the offence falls under points a, c, d, dd, e, g and h of Clause 2: a fine of VND 05–10 billion. NOTE: this excludes point b of Clause 2 (“abusing position or power”) — because a legal entity cannot “abuse a position”;
- (c) Where the offence falls under Clause 3: a fine of VND 10–20 billion or suspension of operations for 01–03 years;
- (d) In the case prescribed in Article 79: permanent suspension of operations — the precise wording is “in the case prescribed in Article 79”, not every Clause 3 case;
- (dd) Additional penalty: a fine of VND 01–05 billion, prohibition from doing business, prohibition from operating in certain fields, or prohibition from raising capital for 01–03 years.
One must not write “every company laundering money is fined VND 20 billion” — the fine applies according to the frame corresponding to Clause 1, 2 or 3 of the offence.
The penalty system for legal entities in general (brief context)
- Fine (Article 77);
- Fixed-term suspension of operations (Article 78);
- Permanent suspension of operations (Article 79);
- Prohibition from doing business or operating in certain fields (Article 80);
- Prohibition from raising capital (Article 81).
Legal entities are not subject to imprisonment — all penalties are non-custodial.
4. Proceedings against legal entities: representative and coercive measures
A commercial legal entity participates in criminal proceedings through its legal representative; where there is no representative or several persons are simultaneously representatives, the proceeding authority designates one person. The representative’s rights and obligations are set out in Article 435 of the Criminal Procedure Code (cross-check against the latest consolidated text).
Coercive measures against legal entities under Article 436 of the Criminal Procedure Code include: seizure of assets, freezing of accounts, temporary suspension of operations, and compulsory payment of a guarantee — measures with direct, very practical impact on companies.
Reference information only — not legal advice. Companies should build internal anti-money-laundering compliance programmes to prevent criminal-liability risks for both the entity and related individuals.
For reference only, not legal advice. Content quality-checked by the AI Legal Council; not yet reviewed by a human lawyer.
