Proposal to fine up to 30 million VND for anyone trading on unlicensed crypto exchanges

Violations related to trading and providing crypto asset services may be subject to fines of up to 200 million VND for organizations and 100 million VND for individuals, according to the draft Decree on administrative sanctions in the field of crypto assets currently being consulted by the Ministry of Finance and the State Securities Commission.

For domestic investors, trading digital assets on unlicensed platforms will be fined from 10–30 million VND. This is the next step after Resolution 05, which requires Vietnamese investors to transfer crypto assets from foreign exchanges to trade at organizations approved by the Ministry of Finance within 6 months from the first licensing date. According to the State Securities Commission, this must fully comply with KYC regulations, information verification, and the use of bank accounts in the investor’s own name.

Maximum fine of 200 million VND for organizations

The draft Decree clearly stipulates that the highest fine is 200 million VND for organizations and 100 million VND for individuals, applied to violations in offering, issuance, market organization, and providing services related to crypto assets.

If an individual commits similar acts as an organization, the fine will be half.

Regulated violations include:

• Violations of regulations on offering and issuing crypto assets
• Violations of regulations on organizing trading markets
• Violations of obligations of crypto asset service providers
• Violations regarding the transfer of funds by foreign investors
• Violations of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing regulations in the crypto asset sector

In addition to monetary fines, violating organizations may also be subject to the following measures:

• Temporary revocation of the license to provide crypto asset trading services
• Suspension of offering, issuance, or provision of trading services
• Mandatory correction or retraction of false information
• Mandatory provision of complete and accurate information
• Mandatory surrender of illegal profits
• Mandatory removal or disabling of violating systems

Detailed fines for foreign investors

The draft also specifies penalties for acts related to fund transfers and the use of designated accounts by foreign investors:

• 30–50 million VND: for opening and using payment accounts in violation of regulations when trading crypto assets in Vietnam
• 70–100 million VND: for providing inaccurate files, data, or information to licensed banks
• 70–100 million VND: for licensed banks failing to fulfill responsibilities stipulated in Resolution 05

Sanctioning authority

The draft Decree also clearly identifies the positions authorized to impose administrative sanctions in the field of crypto assets, including:

• Chairman of the State Securities Commission
• Chief Inspector of the State Securities Commission
• Chief Inspector of the regional State Bank
• Director of the Department of Finance
• Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee
• Police force officials

For example, according to the draft, the Director of the Department of Finance or the Chief Inspector of the State Securities Commission has the authority to:

• Issue warnings
• Impose fines up to 160 million VND for organizations and 80 million VND for individuals
• Revoke the license to provide crypto asset trading services for 1 to 6 months
• Suspend offering, issuance, or provision of trading services for 1 to 12 months

According to Resolution 05, the domestic crypto asset market will be managed by three agencies:

• Ministry of Finance: manages service provision and trading activities
• State Bank: manages cash flow and payment instruments
• Ministry of Public Security: combats fraud and high-tech crime

In Resolution 05, it is stated that investors may face criminal prosecution if trading on unlicensed exchanges. This time, there is no clear mention of this; it is unclear whether both monetary and criminal sanctions will be applied together, or if criminal prosecution has been abolished. We will have to wait for further information from the authorities.

Thach Sanh