Several businesses in Vietnam’s food and health supplement industry are under criminal investigation for offering bribes to officials at the Food Safety Authority (under the Ministry of Health) in exchange for expedited licensing and approvals of substandard dossiers.

In a sweeping corruption probe, former directors Nguyen Thanh Phong and Tran Viet Nga, along with numerous subordinates at the Food Safety Authority, have been recommended for prosecution for accepting bribes. A host of business executives are also being prosecuted for offering bribes.

According to investigators, enterprises seeking approval to register and advertise health supplements often struggled due to vague regulations under Decree 15, which lacks detailed guidance. As a result, dossiers frequently faced delays, revisions, and multiple re-submissions, putting pressure on companies to speed up the process.

This pressure, coupled with the profit-driven nature of the industry, led several firms and individuals to bribe officials in order to fast-track evaluations and legitimize dossiers that failed to meet regulatory standards.

Bribes masked as debts and coded messages

The investigation reveals that certain intermediaries exploited loopholes and the opaque review process to broker deals between businesses and officials, facilitating illegal payments disguised as “debt repayments” or “loans” with coded transaction references indicating the dossier numbers.

Among those accused of offering bribes are prominent figures in the health supplement sector. Pham Duc Thuan, Chairman of the Board at Novaco Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, Nguyen Quang Hung (CEO of Novaco), and Vu Van Toa (Director of Novaco’s Ho Chi Minh City branch) have all been implicated.

Novaco specializes in dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, and provides registration services for other companies. Investigators found that Thuan had a prior relationship with Dinh Quang Minh, Director of the Center for Food Safety Application and Training at Cục ATTP. Leveraging this connection, Thuan contacted Minh for support in navigating dossier reviews and directed company staff to seek his assistance directly.

Between 2019 and 2021, Thuan, Hung, and Toa instructed the accounting department to transfer more than 3.8 billion VND (approximately 158,000 USD) to Minh.

Another executive, Pham Thi Loan, Director of Canada Vietnam International Pharmaceutical JSC, was found to have transferred more than 1.4 billion VND (around 58,000 USD) between 2018 and 2022 to a specialist in the Food Product Management Department in exchange for preferential treatment in evaluating 171 product dossiers.

Over 33 billion VND in bribes by one individual

The largest bribe payer in the case is Tran Thi Quynh Trang, a licensed pharmacist who offered dossier registration and advertising services. Trang paid over 33 billion VND (approximately 1.37 million USD) in both cash and bank transfers to 21 specialists at Cục ATTP.

Additional figures include:

Nguyen Viet Anh, Director of Balactan Vietnam Co., Ltd., who paid over 3.9 billion VND (161,000 USD) to four officials.

Lai Thi Thu Anh, Director of Great Health Vietnam Co., Ltd., who transferred 4.7 billion VND (194,000 USD) to seven specialists.

Tran Quang Hai, Director of Fosi International Food Services JSC, who sent over 5.4 billion VND (223,000 USD) to four officials.

All of the individuals involved have been recommended for prosecution under Vietnam’s criminal laws on bribery.

T. Nhung