How does the Criminal Code regulate the crime of resource exploitation?

That is the concern of Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoa (Quy Hop, Nghe An).

Reply: The crime of violating regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of resources is stipulated in Article 227 of the Penal Code 2015, amended and supplemented in 2017 with the following specific contents:

1. Any person who violates regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of resources in the mainland, islands, inland waters, territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, continental shelves and airspace of Vietnam without a license or not in accordance with the contents of the license in one of the following cases shall be subject to a fine of from VND 300,000,000 to VND 1,500,000,000 or imprisonment from 06 months to 03 years:

a) Illegal profits from research, exploration, exploitation of water resources, oil and gas or other minerals from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

b) Minerals worth from VND 500,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000;

c) Causing injury or damage to the health of another person with a bodily injury rate of 61% or more;

d) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people, with the total body injury rate of these people from 61% to 121%;

d) Having been administratively sanctioned for one of the acts specified in this Article or having been convicted of this crime, not having had the criminal record expunged, and still committing the violation.

2. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be subject to a fine of from VND 1,500,000,000 to VND 5,000,000,000 or imprisonment from 02 years to 07 years:

a) Illegal profits from research, exploration, exploitation of water resources, oil and gas or other minerals of VND 500,000,000 or more;

b) Minerals worth VND 1,000,000,000 or more;

c) Organized;

d) Causing environmental incidents;

d) Causing death;

e) Causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people, with the total body injury rate of these people being 122% or more".

3. The offender may also be fined from VND 50,000,000 to VND 500,000,000.

4. A commercial legal entity committing a crime specified in this Article shall be punished as follows:

a) Committing one of the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article, illegally profiting from research, exploration, exploitation of water resources, oil and gas or other minerals from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 or minerals worth from VND 700,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000, or causing injury or damage to the health of another person with a body injury rate of 61% or more, or causing injury or damage to the health of 02 or more people with a total body injury rate of these people from 61% to 121%; Illegally profiting from research, exploration, exploitation of water resources, oil and gas or other minerals from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or minerals worth from VND 500,000,000 to under VND 700,000,000 but having been administratively sanctioned for one of the acts specified in this Article, or having been convicted of this crime, not having had the criminal record expunged but still committing the violation, shall be subject to a fine from VND 1,500,000,000 to VND 3,000,000,000”;

b) Committing a crime under the provisions of Clause 2 of this Article shall be subject to a fine of from VND 3,000,000,000 to VND 7,000,000,000 or suspension of operations for a period of from 06 months to 03 years;

c) Commercial legal entities may also be fined from VND 100,000,000 to VND 500,000,000, banned from doing business, banned from operating in certain fields or banned from raising capital from 01 to 03 years.

Thus, for the crime of violating regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of resources, the highest prison sentence is up to 07 years.