CAN YOU BE REPAID THE AMOUNT SPENT ON LOOKING FOR A JOB?

A person in the army took on a job for my wife which was a position of a professional soldier in the army. The agreed package fee is 520 million dongs paid one time with a record. I have recorded the whole conversation between us. However, then, my wife enlisted as a soldier and after 2 years of service, she will turn into a professional soldier. It doesn't comply with our original agreement on recruiting straight to the professional. Because my wife had to go to the army as a soldier for 2 years, the fee should be half of the agreed fee. From the beginning, my family did not need to go to the army for 2 years, but that person cheated. Please give me an advice. Thank you, Lawyer.

FDVN’s Opinions:

1. This agreement is considered a civil transaction. It is stipulated in Article 117 of Civil Code 2015 on the conditions for the validity of a civil transaction as followed:

a) Participants in the transaction have legal personality and/or legal capacity in conformity with such transaction;

b) Participants in the transaction act entirely voluntarily;

c) The purpose and contents of the transaction are not contrary to the law and/or social ethics.

The transaction between you and the person receiving the money to "look for a job" is a civil transaction considered illegal. According to the Law on Officers of the Vietnam People's Army, the appointment of military officers must meet certain conditions and must follow the order and procedures prescribed by law. It is illegal to use money or perform job-seeking services to interfere with this appointment. At that time, this transaction will be invalidated. The legal consequences of an invalid transaction are stipulated in Article 131 of Civil Code, an invalid civil transaction shall not give rise to, change or terminate any civil rights and obligations of the parties from the time the transaction is entered into. When a civil transaction is invalid, the parties shall restore everything to its original state and shall return to each other what they have received.

2. However, in this case, there are signs of crimes, specifically:

- If the person performing "job-seeking" service acknowledged his ability that he could not provide a chance for your wife to become a professional soldier but still promised and created a trust for you to earn money, this act may constitute the crime of "Obtaining property by fraud" under Article 174 of the Penal Code 2015, amended and supplemented in 2017. Besides, depending on the behavior, it may constitute crimes of fraud to take others' property. At that time, you can make a denunciation of acts showing signs of crime and send it to the competent investigative police agency to request verification and investigation.

– However, through the specific verification of the behavior, if it is determined that you know that the person was competent to arrange the job position and you gave him an amount of money to look for a job, that person may offense the crime of "Taking bribes" (according to Article 354 of Penal Code 2015, amended and supplemented in 2017) and you will also be prosecuted for criminal liability for the crime of "Giving bribes" under Article 364 of the Penal Code 2015, amending and supplementing 2017.

Therefore, you need to base on the facts of the case to consider and choose the most appropriate legal solution.

Lawyer Duyên Trần – FDVN Law Firm

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