Dr. Ngo Ngoc Diem, Attorney at Law at ThinkSmart Law Firm, Hanoi Bar Association. Photo: DH.
The investigation conclusion of the “Xuyen Viet Oil” case reveals that when receiving money from the accused, Mai Thi Hong Hanh (Director and Chairman of the Members’ Council of Xuyen Viet Oil Trading, Transportation, and Tourism Co., Ltd.) to bribe a group of leaders of the Domestic Market Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the accused, Nguyen Van Thang (former Deputy Director of Hanoi Branch of Xuyen Viet Oil) embezzled from the bribe money twice, with a total amount of 55,000 USD.
On one occasion, after receiving a bag of money from Ms. Hanh’s driver, Mr. Thang brought it to the workplace of the Domestic Market Department on the 6th floor of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s headquarters (23 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi). There, he opened the bag and found 300,000 USD. He then took 50,000 USD and put it in his personal bag. When meeting with two former leaders of the Domestic Market Department, he only gave them 250,000 USD. Mr. Thang was charged with embezzlement regarding the 50,000 USD (equivalent to more than 1.13 billion VND).
On another occasion, Mr. Thang took 5,000 USD from the 10,000 USD that Ms. Mai Thi Hong Hanh gave him to bribe Mr. Hoang Anh Tuan, former Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade). Mr. Thang put this money into the fund of the Hanoi Branch of the company.
When interviewed by Tien Phong Newspaper about the legal issues surrounding Mr. Nguyen Van Thang’s embezzlement of the bribe money, Dr. Ngo Ngoc Diem, Attorney at Law, stated that although the money belonged to the company and was under its management and use, Mr. Thang had embezzled a portion of it for personal purposes, which showed signs of the crime of “Embezzlement of Property”. According to Article 353 of the Penal Code, embezzlement of property is defined as the act of taking advantage of one’s position and authority to appropriate the property of an agency, organization, or enterprise that one is responsible for managing.
Dr. Diem added that Mr. Thang’s act of withdrawing 55,000 USD from the bribe money would be considered as the act of “Embezzlement of Property”.
Attorney Bui Phan Anh, Hanoi Bar Association.
Contrary to this view, Attorney Bui Phan Anh from the Hanoi Bar Association opined that Mr. Thang’s actions showed signs of the crime of “Abuse of Trust to Appropriate Property”. According to Article 175 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended by Clause 35, Article 1 of the Law Amending the 2017 Penal Code, the act of “Abuse of Trust to Appropriate Property” includes borrowing, renting, or receiving property from others and then using fraudulent means or absconding to appropriate that property or using the property for illegal purposes, resulting in the inability to return it.
Attorney Bui Phan Anh explained that the act of “Abuse of Trust to Appropriate Property” occurs when the offender intentionally appropriates property for personal purposes. In this case, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang received property from others twice and used fraudulent means by embezzling 55,000 USD, intending to appropriate that money.
Attorney Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of Truong Loc Law Company.
Meanwhile, Attorney Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of Truong Loc Law Company, stated that if the 300,000 USD was discreetly packaged and Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of Xuyen Viet Oil’s Hanoi Branch, took 50,000 USD for personal use, his act would show signs of the crime of “Theft of Property”.
According to Article 173 of the Penal Code, the act of “Theft of Property” is defined as the intentional and covert act of appropriating the property of individuals or organizations to gain illegal benefits from that property.
On the other hand, if the money was given openly and not packaged, Mr. Thang’s actions could be considered under the crime of “Abuse of Trust to Appropriate Property”, stipulated in Article 175 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended by Clause 35, Article 1 of the Law Amending the 2017 Penal Code, Attorney Nguyen Anh Tuan added.
According to the investigation conclusion, during the investigation process, the accused, Mai Thi Hong Hanh, did not request the consideration of Mr. Thang’s aforementioned actions. Mr. Thang was recognized for his sincerity in confessing, regretting, and cooperating actively with the investigating agency in detecting, investigating, and clarifying the crimes. He also voluntarily contributed 1 billion VND to compensate for the damage.
On the other hand, Mr. Thang’s act has already been taken into account in the crime of “Bribery” with the amount of 300,000 USD, so the investigating agency did not mention any further handling.
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