Between 2020 and 2024, thousands of customers were drawn in by flashy social media campaigns on Facebook and TikTok, costing up to 20 billion VND (approx. $800,000) per month, promoting Mailisa’s beauty clinics.

Behind these professionally crafted advertisements lay the scheme of transforming cheap, unregulated skincare products made in Guangzhou, China, into what was advertised as “premium Asian cosmetics,” operated by couple Phan Thi Mai and Hoang Kim Khanh.

On November 21, the Department of Anti-Corruption, Economic Crimes, and Smuggling (C03, Ministry of Public Security) launched a criminal case for smuggling involving MK Skincare Co. and related entities. Eight individuals have been arrested and charged under Article 188 of the Penal Code.

Phan Thi Mai, born in 1974, came from a poor family and left school after seventh grade. She moved to Ho Chi Minh City and worked as a waitress and shoe seller. By late 1997, she opened a small hair salon, gradually expanding into skincare and beauty services.

Her first company, Mailisa Beauty Clinic Co., specialized in skincare and cosmetic procedures. It was during this phase that she met Hoang Kim Khanh, a newly graduated communications student aiming to build a career in media.

Combining Khanh’s sharp media skills with Mai’s instinct for consumer psychology, the Mailisa brand rapidly expanded. It now operates 17 branches nationwide and claims to have sold over 8 million units of nearly 100 products under the “Doctor Magic” label.

Of particular note, just three key products - M01 (Pigment Removal Cream), M03 (Brightening Cream), and M23 (BB Nano Sunscreen) - accounted for over 3.2 million units sold, generating illicit profits worth trillions of VND.

These products were all manufactured in Guangzhou at costs ranging from 30,000 to 150,000 VND ($1.20 to $6.00) per item. The bulk of the investment was poured into premium packaging to create the illusion of luxury, misleading consumers into believing they were purchasing high-end international goods.

Mai and Khanh orchestrated the transport of these products from China through Hong Kong, where two shell companies - jointly owned with Chinese partners - handled fake customs declarations for export to Vietnam.

Each shipment was labeled “Made in Hong Kong,” supported by forged export invoices and fake international payment documents. Once in Vietnam, the goods were imported through MK Skincare, where Khanh served as general director, giving the operation a legal appearance.

To distribute the products in the domestic market, the couple worked with Chinese contacts to acquire fake Free Sale Certificates from Hong Kong.

These were then used to file for Vietnamese cosmetic registration numbers through the Ministry of Health’s online portal, submitting forged international-standard documentation, contracts, and fake invoices from satellite companies.

Investigators confiscated 3 billion VND ($120,000), $400,000 in cash, 300 SJC gold bars, and 100 land use rights certificates.

In a bid to mitigate consequences, Mai and Khanh voluntarily returned 300 billion VND (approx. $12 million), surrendered 12 luxury car registration documents, and turned over various valuable assets to aid the investigation.

Dinh Hieu