HANOI, June 26 – Vietnam’s National Assembly has passed a significant amendment to the Criminal Code that will abolish the death penalty for eight criminal offenses, including embezzlement and efforts to overthrow the government. The reform, approved unanimously on Wednesday, will take effect from July 1, 2025.
The decision has immediate and far-reaching implications, including for high-profile individuals such as real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, who was sentenced to death in 2023 for her role in a $12 billion financial scandal involving Saigon Commercial Bank. Under the new law, Lan’s sentence will be automatically commuted to life imprisonment. Her legal team has yet to respond to requests for comment, but independent lawyer Ngo Anh Tuan confirmed that the amendment guarantees her reprieve.
Related: Vietnamese Tycoon Truong My Lan sentenced to death in $27bn fraud case
The revised law stipulates that individuals previously sentenced to death for now-excluded crimes, and who have not yet been executed, will also have their sentences reduced to life in prison. Alongside embezzlement and anti-government activities, the other offenses removed from the list of capital crimes include vandalizing state property, manufacturing counterfeit medicine, acts threatening peace, starting aggressive wars, espionage, and the possession of illegal drugs. However, drug trafficking remains punishable by death.
This legislative change marks one of the most substantial reductions in the use of capital punishment in Vietnam in recent years. While the country continues to retain the death penalty for serious crimes such as murder, treason, terrorism, and child sexual abuse, this move signals a possible shift in legal and political attitudes, particularly in cases involving financial crimes and non-violent offenses.
Vietnam does not release official data on executions, as capital punishment remains a state secret. The country abolished firing squads in 2011, with lethal injection now used as the sole method of execution. Although the government has not linked the reform to any specific case, many observers believe the timing—coming shortly after the high-profile sentencing of Lan—reflects growing domestic and international attention on Vietnam’s use of the death penalty.
The move also comes amid broader efforts by Vietnamese authorities to modernize the country’s legal system, improve its human rights record, and demonstrate greater alignment with international legal norms.
Vietnam Insider will continue to follow this story as the new law takes effect next month.
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Source: Vietnam Insider