How former Vietnamese food safety heads open doors to counterfeit products

According to investigation conclusions by the Ministry of Public Security, among the tens of thousands of products approved by the authority without sufficient qualifications were thousands of health supplement products that were subsequently sold to consumers.

The Supreme People’s Procuracy on Thursday issued an indictment charging the two former directors, including Tran Thanh Phong and Tran Viet Nga, along with 32 other individuals in a bribery case.

Both former directors were prosecuted under a penalty framework carrying sentences ranging from 20 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors alleged that Phong must bear criminal responsibility for nearly VND95 billion (US$3.6 million) in bribes received by his subordinates.

Meanwhile, the other former director was accused of responsibility for VND12.7 billion ($482,560) in bribes taken by officials under her authority.

Systematic bribery in product approvals

The indictment stated that bribery at the authority had taken place openly over many years, through both cash payments and bank transfers.

Prosecutors noted that regulations governing the registration and declaration of health protection foods were vague and lacked detailed guidance on procedures, technical criteria, and required documentation.

As a result, businesses often struggled to complete product registration, while authorities faced difficulties in reviewing and assessing applications.

Taking advantage of these shortcomings, senior officials and specialists at the authority allegedly created obstacles for businesses by deliberately delaying application processing.

Phong allegedly set a policy of collecting extra payments beyond official fees for reviewing product dossiers, at a rate of VND5-10 million ($189-378) per application.

Phong was also accused of establishing a profit-sharing mechanism for the bribes collected.

Under this arrangement, the director allegedly received around VND2.5-3 million ($95-114) per dossier, with the remainder divided among deputy directors, division heads, and specialists.

For advertising content certification, Nga, who served as deputy director from 2018 to 2024 and director from 2024 until her arrest, was in charge.

Initially, Nga reportedly signed approvals on time.

However, she later allegedly allowed dossiers to exceed deadlines without approval or returned them citing unclear or unconvincing reasons that did not align with advertising regulations.

Prosecutors said that Nga then instructed Tran Thi Thu Lieu, deputy head of the Food Poisoning and Information Monitoring Office, to impose a system of illegal collections beyond statutory fees.

At least VND2 million ($76) per dossier had to be funneled to Nga.

Subsequently, specialists were accused of demanding payments ranging from VND4 million ($152) to VND9 million ($342) per dossier from companies seeking approval.

Fueling rise of large-scale counterfeit food networks

In the areas of inspection, post-licensing checks and issuance of GMP certificates, Phong and other senior officials of the authority were also accused of taking bribes.

Investigators alleged that Phong facilitated Nguyen Nang Manh, chairman of MediUSA Pharmaceutical JSC, by allowing violations to be overlooked during factory inspections and post-licensing reviews.

In addition to operating MediUSA, Manh owns MediPhar and MediUSA pharmaceutical factories and established multiple companies to legitimize the production and trade of counterfeit health supplements.

Manh repeatedly paid inspection teams during factory assessments and re-assessments, totaling more than VND1 billion ($37,940).

Of the amount, Phong allegedly received VND330 million ($12,520).

Investigators from the Ministry of Public Security described the case as a particularly serious and complex corruption and abuse-of-office scandal.

The crimes stemmed from moral degradation among former leaders of the authority, who created a ‘give-and-take’ mechanism enabling subordinates to collect bribes and reap illicit gains.

Investigators assessed that the violations and lax management by senior officials and leaders at the authority were among the direct causes of the large-scale, organized and open production and sale of counterfeit food products, resulting in significant harm to society.

The consequences were severe: weakening the effectiveness of state management in food safety and health supplement regulation, while fostering an unhealthy and unfair competitive environment among businesses.