On December 15, the Ministry of Public Security held a press briefing to report on public security developments in 2025 and outline tasks for 2026.

During the event, a representative from the Criminal Police Department for Corruption, Economic Crimes, and Smuggling (C03) confirmed that the owners of Mailisa Beauty Clinic had paid approximately 300 billion VND (around 12 million USD) to mitigate consequences in an ongoing criminal investigation.

Previously, on November 21, the Investigative Police Agency of the Ministry of Public Security prosecuted and detained Phan Thi Mai, Director of Mailisa Beauty Clinic Co., Ltd., and Hoang Kim Khanh, its General Director, along with seven others, on charges of smuggling.

According to C03, Mailisa had expanded into a chain of 17 branches nationwide, distributing over 8 million cosmetic products under the “Doctor Magic” brand across nearly 100 product codes.

Among their top sellers were M01 pigmentation removal cream, M03 brightening and anti-dark spot cream, and M23 BB Nano sunscreen. Mailisa sold more than 3.2 million units of these three products alone, generating illegal profits worth thousands of billions of dong.

These products - including face washes, sunscreens, and skin treatments - were outsourced from workshops in Guangzhou, China, at costs ranging from 30,000 to 150,000 VND per item (1.20–6.00 USD). They were then routed through Hong Kong, where two shell companies, registered under Mai, Khanh, and Chinese nationals, rebranded them as Hong Kong-made products using fake invoices and counterfeit international payment documents.

Upon importation into Vietnam, these shipments were legalized through MK Skincare Company, owned and managed by Khanh. To meet legal distribution requirements, the couple allegedly obtained fake certificates of free sale in Hong Kong and used them to register cosmetics with the Drug Administration under Vietnam’s Ministry of Health via the online public service portal. Using these falsified documents, they released 162 cosmetic products into the market at prices many times higher than their actual value.

During the investigation, police recovered 3 billion VND (about 120,000 USD), 400,000 USD in cash, 300 taels of SJC gold, and 100 land use right certificates (commonly referred to as “red books”).

In a move to mitigate penalties and support the investigation, Mai and Khanh voluntarily submitted 300 billion VND to the state treasury, turned over 12 luxury vehicles, and handed in several other high-value assets.

Ongoing fallout from the Mailisa scandal

The investigation continues to shed light on how the Mailisa empire was built through deceptive marketing and fake international documentation. Many consumers were led to believe they were buying premium foreign cosmetics, while in fact the products were cheaply made and falsely labeled.

Authorities are also working to assess the legal status of affected customers and may expand the investigation into the Mailisa supply chain and promotional practices.

Dinh Hieu