How to handle the case of not returning money wrongly transferred to the account?

I am a student. A few days ago, someone transferred to my account a pretty large amount of money, then there was a strange phone number calling me, telling me about the wrong transfer and asking me to pay the money. I was too scared and I did not know if it was a fraud, so I didn’t pay him. I would like to ask your company if I do not return the money, what will happen?

FDVN’s opinions:

Thank you for trusting and choosing FDVN Law Firm (FDVN). For your consultation, after studying the legal documents, FDVN Law Firm offers the following advice:

According to the information you provided, you received a large amount of money from a strange account, then the owner of this account number called to request to pay back because he made a wrong transfer. In this case, if you do not make a payment, you may be violated and fined for illegally seizing the others’ assets.

* Regarding administrative sanctions: According to paragraph e, Clause 2, Article 15 of Decree No. 167/2013/ND-CP dated November 12, 2013 regulating the sanction of administrative violation in social security, order and safety, prevention and fighting of social evils, fire and domestic violence, a fine of between VND 1,000,000 and 2,000,000 shall be imposed for illegally seizing the others’ assets.

* Regarding criminal prosecution:

According to Article 167 of the Criminal Code 2015, as amended and supplemented in 2017:

“Article 176. Illegal impoundment of property

1. Any person who finds or mistakenly receives a piece of property which is assessed at from VND 10,000,000 to under VND 200,000,000, or under VND 10,000,000 but the assets are a relic, an antique or an item of historical or cultural value but deliberately fails to return it to its legitimate owner or fails to submit it a competent authority after the owner or the competent authority requests the return or submission of such property as prescribed by law shall be liable to a fine of from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 02 years' community sentence or 03 - 24 months' imprisonment.”

However, to avoid unfortunate damages, you must carefully consider and should report to the bank to verify the mistake before making a transaction to return this amount.

Above is FDVN Law Firm's opinion for your consulting requests based on studying the relevant legal provisions. Hopefully, FDVN's advice would be helpful to you.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Thanh Tra - FDVN Law Firm

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