Combatting Wildlife Trafficking in Vietnam

A Case Study Prepared for the INL/JUSTRAC+ Community of Practice

on Addressing the Nexus between Transnational Organized Crime
and Corruption

Lillian Dang
Asia & Pacific Division
American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative

Christine Li
Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Division
American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative

September 16, 2020

Introduction
On November 1, 2018, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) awarded the

American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) a 20-month subgrant

to implement a program focused on capacity building and material development

in support of a U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and

Law Enforcement Affairs (INL)-funded project to counter wildlife trafficking in

Vietnam.

Background
As a key source, transit, and destination for illegal wildlife products, Vietnam is a

linchpin in the global wildlife trafficking supply chain. In November 2018, the

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the American Bar Association Rule of

Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) commenced a program funded by the US Department

of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

(State/INL) to tackle the relationship between wildlife trafficking, corruption, and

organized crime in Vietnam. ABA ROLI identified judges and prosecutors as key

stakeholders in addressing corruption related to wildlife trafficking.

Program Goal and Objectives

The goal of the program was to enhance the capacity of Vietnam’s law enforcement,

prosecutorial, and judicial officials in combatting wildlife trafficking and its

associated crimes.

Strategic objectives:

• Enhance Vietnam’s law enforcement and investigative capabilities to

counter wildlife trafficking

• Develop Vietnam’s prosecutorial and judicial capacity to counter wildlife

trafficking

Program Activities
To increase judicial officials’ commitment and capacity to prosecute, convict, and

penalize wildlife traffickers, ABA ROLI conducted training to increase judicial

officials’ understanding of the new anti-corruption law and the role of economic

and position-related crimes in facilitating wildlife trafficking, as well as how

preventive measures can be used to address wildlife trafficking crimes.

Two trainings were conducted for judicial officials in partnership with WCS and

the Supreme People’s Court (SPC).

1) Link between wildlife crimes and corruption

The first training was facilitated by a U.S. judge, the U.S. Department of Justice,

Office of Overseas Prosecutorial, Development, Assistance, and Training’s

(DOJ/OPDAT) Regional Countering Wildlife Trafficking (CWT) expert and SPC

experts. The training examined the relationship between wildlife crime and

corruption and covered the following topics:

• Overview of wildlife trafficking patterns and where Vietnam fits in the global

phenomenon

• Wildlife trafficking and its linkages with relevant economic and position

related crimes

• Domestic legal framework of wildlife trafficking and relevant organized

crime

• Following the money in wildlife crime cases – collecting and using evidence

• Evidence in economics and position related crimes in Vietnam: lessons

learned

• Group Exercise: charging exercise on a fact pattern

The training was conducted in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, for a total of 70

participants.

2) Financial investigations in wildlife crimes

The second training was facilitated by U.S, Thai, and Vietnamese experts in

combatting wildlife trafficking, anti-money laundering, and corruption. ABA ROLI

engaged two U.S. federal prosecutors from DOJ/OPDAT to present on the

importance of financial investigations in wildlife crimes, electronic evidence, and

the risk of money laundering in cryptocurrencies. Three Vietnamese trainers from

the Department of Legal Affairs of the SPC and the Procuratorate University of

Hanoi facilitated discussion of the domestic legal framework governing electronic

evidence, handling money laundering, and corruption crimes, and shared their

experiences in two recent corruption cases. A guest speaker from the Thai Anti-

Money Laundering Office shared a landmark wildlife-related money laundering

and corruption case, in which the offender was half-Thai, half-Vietnamese and the

trafficking route included Vietnam. The training was conducted in Hanoi and Nha

Trang, for a total of 51 participants.

Program Successes
● 70 judicial officials trained on the linkages between wildlife crime and

corruption, including cumulative/multiple charging of corruption crimes

alongside wildlife crimes.

● 84% of judicial officials in the Hanoi training and 90% of judicial officials in

the Ho Chi Minh City training agreed that the training content was relevant

to their current duties”.

● 51 judicial officials trained in anti-corruption, anti-money laundering and

financial investigations in wildlife crimes

 ● 85% of judicial officials in the Hanoi training and 90% of judicial officials in

the Nha Trang training agreed that the training content was relevant to their

current duties.

● Though a sensitive topic, these trainings reflect the possibility of a changing

dynamic surrounding corruption and future collaborations on the

intersection of corruption and wildlife trafficking.

● Example of learning: Ms. Hang Thi Le, a senior judge who had presided over

a case related to the trafficking of 7,000 sea turtles, recognized that she had

not further investigated the possible profit/financial

motivations/corruption-elements of the wildlife crime, and would be more

cognizant of this intersection in future cases.

Challenges
● Lack of buy-in from other key stakeholders, such as the State Bank and the

Ministry of Public Security, meant training activities only targeted judges

and prosecutors and did not target law enforcement and financial

intelligence/financial crime investigators.

● Struggles in monitoring whether beneficiaries have implemented gained

knowledge in judicial practices - according to the SPC database, there have

not been any wildlife-related corruption or money laundering cases from

November 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.

 ● COVID-19 has affected the impact of the program - the SPC postponed all

trials from March 11, 2020 until further notice, further impacting the ability

to understand whether knowledge gained from training is benefitting

judicial practices.

Lessons Learned
Judges and prosecutors are not considering corruption crimes connected to

wildlife crimes. For example, judges and prosecutors do not consider

cumulative/multiple charges (i.e., charging both the wildlife crimes and associated

corruption e.g. bribery, forged documents, money laundering). One reason is that

judges and prosecutors do not feel confident in their knowledge of financial

investigations, particularly financial investigations of money laundering.

Moreover, charging corruption related to wildlife trafficking requires further

financial investigations, causing delays in proceedings.

Replicable Evidence and Practices

Practical exercises conducted during trainings, such as a charging exercise using a

fact pattern involving both wildlife crimes and corruption, can highlight what to

look for in terms of the type of corruption crime connected to wildlife trafficking,

and how multiple/cumulative charges can be laid. Showcasing a real-life case study

of a successful wildlife and corruption investigation can reinforce how both can be

tackled together.

Resources Developed for or through this Program and Their Added

Value
● Training curriculum developed to inform judicial officials on the link

between corruption and wildlife trafficking in addition to how a new

Vietnam-specific anti-corruption law can be applied to this intersection

○ Value added: useful for future trainings on the same/similar topic

● Training curriculum developed for training judicial officials on anti-

corruption, anti-money laundering, and combating wildlife trafficking

techniques to increase their technical knowledge when hearing cases and

assessing evidence

○ Value added: useful for future trainings on the same/similar topic

● Pre/Post Tests/Feedback forms for trainings

○ Value added: useful example for similar M&E tactics