How many years in prison are people convicted of embezzlement?

Reply:

Embezzlement of property can be understood as the act of taking advantage of one's position and power to appropriate property that one is responsible for managing.

According to Article 353 of the 2015 Penal Code (amended in 2017), those who commit the crime of embezzlement of property are handled as follows:

1. Anyone who abuses his/her position or power to appropriate property under his/her management worth from VND 2,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000 or under VND 2,000,000 but falling into one of the following cases shall be sentenced to imprisonment from 02 to 07 years:

a) Having been disciplined for this behavior but still violating;

b) Having been convicted of one of the crimes specified in Section 1 of this Chapter, not having had the criminal record expunged, and still committing the violation.

2. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 07 to 15 years:

a) Organized;

b) Using cunning and dangerous tricks;

c) Committing the crime 02 times or more;

d) Appropriating property worth from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000;

d) Appropriating money and assets used for the purpose of hunger eradication and poverty reduction; money, allowances, subsidies, and incentives for people with revolutionary contributions; reserve funds or money and assets for subsidies and donations to areas affected by natural disasters, epidemics, or areas with special economic difficulties;

e) Causing property damage from VND 1,000,000,000 to under VND 3,000,000,000;

g) Adversely affect the lives of cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers in agencies and organizations.

3. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 15 to 20 years:

a) Appropriating property worth from VND 500,000,000 to under VND 1,000,000,000;

b) Causing property damage from VND 3,000,000,000 to under VND 5,000,000,000;

c) Adversely affecting social security, order and safety;

d) Leading to bankruptcy or cessation of operations of other enterprises or organizations.

4. Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by 20 years' imprisonment, life imprisonment or death penalty:

a) Appropriation of property worth VND 1,000,000,000 or more;

b) Causing property damage of VND 5,000,000,000 or more.

5. The offender is also prohibited from holding certain positions from 01 year to 05 years, may be fined from 30,000,000 VND to 100,000,000 VND, and may have part or all of his/her assets confiscated.

6. Persons holding positions and powers in non-state enterprises and organizations who embezzle property shall be handled according to the provisions of this Article.

Thus, depending on the nature and severity of the crime, the person committing the crime of embezzlement of property may be prosecuted for criminal liability corresponding to the penalty levels prescribed in Article 353 above, in which the highest prison sentence is life imprisonment; the highest penalty is the death penalty.