On Sept. 2, the Police Investigation Agency for Corruption, Economic and Smuggling Crimes (C03) under the Ministry of Public Security announced that Tran Van Thuan, Deputy Minister of Health, had been prosecuted, detained and had his premises searched on charges of “receiving bribes.”

The move marked the latest development in an expanding investigation involving Viet My Medical Investment JSC and related organizations and localities.

Earlier, on July 24, the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Police Agency launched criminal proceedings over alleged “smuggling” and “violations of accounting regulations causing serious consequences.” It also detained Bui Chan Phuong, former chairman of Viet My’s Board of Directors; Ha Van Nam, the company’s director; and Tran Thi Hong Hanh, who was in charge of its accounting operations.

For years before the criminal investigation was launched, Viet My had participated in hundreds of medical equipment procurement packages.

According to procurement data compiled by DauThau, Viet My Medical Investment JSC participated in 276 bidding packages between 2018 and 2026, winning 246 and losing 17. Eight had yet to produce results, while five had been canceled. The company bid independently in 270 packages and as part of consortiums in six.

The combined value of contracts won by Viet My, including those secured through consortiums, reached VND5.947 trillion, or approximately $226 million.

Notably, Viet My Medical’s procurement activity increased sharply in recent years. In 2025, the company participated in 56 bidding packages and won 53. Data for 2026 currently records 23 packages in which it participated, winning 21.

Previously, the company won 12 packages in 2018, 11 in 2019, 26 in 2020, 27 in 2021, 15 in 2022 and 33 in 2023. In 2024 alone, it won 45 of the 53 packages in which it participated.

Its procurement footprint also extended across numerous localities. Before Vietnam’s administrative restructuring, data showed that Viet My had participated in 78 packages in Hanoi, 37 in Ho Chi Minh City, 13 in Quang Ninh, 12 in Da Nang, nine in Ninh Binh and eight in Hue, in addition to many other localities.

The bidding packages involving Viet My show that the company frequently participated in contracts related to equipment, components, maintenance and repair services for radiotherapy and cancer treatment. The portfolio included a range of highly specialized equipment and technical components, including linear accelerators, Leksell Gamma Knife systems, cyclotron systems, Co-60 radioactive sources and Iridium-192.

Some of the packages were worth tens of billions or even hundreds of billions of dong. Procurement data shows, for example, that the company participated in supplying, installing, repairing and maintaining specialized medical equipment systems at a number of major hospitals.

Bui Chan Phuong’s corporate ecosystem

According to preliminary investigation findings released by the Ministry of Public Security, Bui Chan Phuong not only ran Viet My but also established, directed and operated two other companies in Vietnam: Sao Kim Medical Investment Co., Ltd. and Hoang Mai Pharmaceutical JSC.

Sao Kim was established in 2011, initially operating under the name Sao Kim Medical Equipment Investment and Import-Export Co., Ltd. In 2016, the company changed its primary business activity to the trading of medical machinery, equipment and instruments.

Between 2019 and 2026, Sao Kim participated in 29 bidding packages and won 19. Hoang Mai Pharmaceutical JSC, meanwhile, was established in 2007 and primarily operates in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Its procurement activity was even larger, with the company participating in 486 bidding packages since 2018.

Of particular note is the network of companies established overseas. According to the Ministry of Public Security, Bui Chan Phuong also set up five companies in Singapore and three in Hong Kong, China. Investigators determined that these entities played a role in buying and reselling medical equipment and pharmaceutical products, allegedly inflating their prices before the goods were imported into Vietnam.

Investigators initially allege that the goods were subsequently sold to domestic medical organizations and healthcare facilities at high prices, allowing the group to obtain illicit profits while causing losses to the state budget and driving up healthcare investment costs.

Another alleged scheme under investigation involves the misuse of import licenses issued for primary medical equipment. According to the Ministry of Public Security, the suspects are accused of falsely declaring certain other devices as accompanying goods in order to bring them into Vietnam in violation of regulations.

The investigation is being expanded as C03 examines signs of transfer pricing and tax evasion at several companies importing medical equipment and pharmaceutical products. Investigators are continuing to determine the scale of the case, the role of each defendant, the responsibilities of other people involved, and those of related organizations and individuals.

In particular, the prosecution of Tran Van Thuan on charges of “receiving bribes” on Sept. 2 indicates that the scope of the investigation has widened significantly. However, authorities have yet to disclose details of Thuan’s specific alleged conduct or any connection between those allegations and individual procurement activities involving Viet My. Any determination of wrongdoing, responsibility and damages will depend on the findings of the authorities’ investigation.

Manh Ha