Former Director Nguyen Thanh Phong and former Deputy Director Tran Viet Nga are among 55 individuals proposed for prosecution. The charges stem from years of soliciting bribes disguised as "loans" and "debt repayments" in exchange for fast-tracking health product approvals and advertising licenses.

According to investigators, from 2018 to 2024, officials at the Food Safety Authority accepted more than 94 billion VND (approximately $3.85 million USD) in bribes.

Nguyen Thanh Phong alone is accused of receiving over 43 billion VND (about $1.77 million USD), making him the top beneficiary in what police have described as an especially serious and complex case of corruption.

Bribes hidden in bank transfers with coded messages

The investigation revealed that businesses seeking product registration and advertising approvals routinely encountered vague, unclear rejections and delays. Officials demanded informal payments - ranging from 2 to 10 million VND ($80–400 USD) per application - to ensure faster processing or avoid excessive revisions.

To conceal the illicit nature of the payments, companies transferred funds under the guise of personal loans or debt repayments. The transfers often included cryptic notes referring to specific application codes, allowing officials to match the payment with pending cases discreetly.

Those who paid were guaranteed smoother processing of their documents, while those who refused faced repeated rejections or long delays.

Among the recipients were civil servants, specialists, and even high-ranking leaders. Six review officers received over 12 billion VND ($490,000 USD) in total under the direction of Tran Viet Nga, who is accused of collecting more than 8 billion VND ($325,000 USD) herself.

In some cases, businesses would text their application numbers to specific officials before transferring money. Once approvals were granted, further payments were made - sometimes in cash, sometimes through coded bank transfers.

Abuse of authority and manipulated procedures

According to the findings, many companies struggled to meet vague regulatory requirements introduced under Decree 15/2018/ND-CP, which lacked specific instructions for health product approvals. The resulting confusion allowed officials to exploit the system.

Instead of assigning the correct department to handle product registration (the Product Management Division), Nguyen Thanh Phong transferred these responsibilities to a unit not authorized to process them - the Standards and Testing Division - further complicating procedures and increasing dependency on internal contacts.

He also approved a payment-sharing scheme that allowed civil servants to accept “off-the-book” fees averaging 5–10 million VND ($200–400 USD) per application. The illegal income was then split among reviewers and supervisors.

Phong is being prosecuted as the ringleader and mastermind behind the operation, and is held criminally accountable for the entire 94 billion VND received by his subordinates. He has voluntarily submitted assets for seizure to ensure restitution.

From regulatory chaos to organized bribery

Deputy Director Tran Viet Nga - who served as acting director from September 2024 - also played a critical role.

Investigators found that she frequently delayed or refused to sign off on applications without clear justification. She instructed subordinates to collect extra payments from businesses, enforcing a minimum 2 million VND ($80 USD) fee per advertising certificate.

Six of her staff members followed her directive, amassing over 12 billion VND from applicants. Her own share exceeded 8 billion VND, making her the second-largest beneficiary in the scheme.

One consultant alone, pharmacist Tran Thi Quynh Trang, was found to have paid more than 33 billion VND ($1.35 million USD) in bribes to 21 officials - and is now being prosecuted for active bribery.

Legal consequences and broader implications

The Food Safety Authority’s failure to uphold proper regulatory standards enabled widespread fraud in the health supplements industry. Counterfeit and low-quality food products were approved and sold on a large scale, undermining public health and consumer trust.

With dozens of arrests and billions seized, this case stands as one of Vietnam’s most extensive corruption investigations in the health sector.

Authorities have also issued a public warning: “If food safety is not ensured, no matter how many hospitals we build, it won’t be enough.”

As of mid-December 2025, the Ministry of Public Security is continuing to expand the probe into related companies and government offices across the country.

T. Nhung