HCMC – Nguyen Huynh, deputy head of the Drug Price Management Division at the Drug Administration of Vietnam under the Ministry of Health, has been detained for his alleged involvement in the Viet A test kit price gouging case.

According to the Ministry of Public Security’s investigative police, Huynh was accused of abusing power while on duty. This is the latest development in a major investigation into alleged violations of bidding regulations, which led to serious consequences, bribery, and abuse of power while on duty linked to the test kit price gouging case found at Viet A Company and many localities. The preliminary results of the investigation showed that Huynh received some suggestions from Phan Quoc Viet, general director of Viet A Company, when the Health Ministry was processing Viet A’s registrations to license Viet A test kits for circulation in Vietnam. Huynh previously served as secretary of Nguyen Thanh Long when Long was Deputy Minister of Health. Huynh abused his post as secretary of Nguyen Thanh Long to intervene and influence Nguyen Minh Tuan, head of the Medical Equipment and Projects Division, to propose the Health Ministry license Viet A test kits unlawfully. The investigators are working to tackle those involved in the case. Up to now, the investigators at different levels have pressed charges against over 30 individuals for their alleged involvement in the Viet A test kit gouging case. Of them, there are three officials of the ministries of Health and Science-Technology, and eight CDC directors in some provinces and cities. The police also prosecuted Viet A’s general director Phan Quoc Viet, deputy director Vu Dinh Hiep, and some staff members of the firm.