Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has charged 18 people, including senior health officials, in a bribery and forgery case involving over 10,000 fake product-registration certificates worth more than VND75 billion (about $3 million).
The accused include former director of the Vietnam Food Administration (VFA) Nguyen Thanh Phong, deputy head of the General Department of Preventive Medicine Le Hoang, and other senior staff. They allegedly took bribes to approve dossiers for health supplements without proper scientific proof.
Investigators say staff substituted documents when files were incomplete, and after approval, companies paid bribes that were shared between staff and department leaders.
Phong is accused of receiving over VND60 billion in bribes between 2015 and 2024. Two company directors have also been detained for giving bribes, and a CEO is under investigation for document forgery.
The scandal is linked to illegal operations by TSL Science Co. Ltd. and a counterfeit health supplement ring currently under investigation.
