Hanoi (VNA) – After 10 days of hearings and deliberations, the Hanoi People’s Court on January 14 delivered verdicts against 55 defendants in a bribery case involving the Vietnam Food Safety Authority (FSA) under the Ministry of Health.
Of the total, 34 officials from the VFA were convicted of receiving bribes under Article 354 of the Penal Code, while the remaining 21 were found guilty of giving bribes under Article 364.
The court imposed the heaviest sentences on two former VFA directors, namely Nguyen Thanh Phong, who receive 20 years in prison, and Tran Viet Nga, who was sentenced to 15 years. Two former deputy directors, Nguyen Hung Long and Do Huu Tuan, were given 12 years and seven years, respectively.
Thirty other officials convicted on the same receiving-bribes charge were handed terms ranging from 24 months suspended to nine years in prison.
Among the 21 defendants convicted of giving bribes, pharmacist Tran Thi Quynh Trang from Hanoi’s Viet Hung ward was sentenced to five years and six months, while Nguyen Viet Anh, former Director of Balactan Vietnam Co. Ltd., received four years and six months. Le Thi Thu Ha from Hanoi’s Thanh Xuan ward, Lai Thi Thu Anh, Director of Great Health Vietnam Co. Ltd., Nguyen Thi Vinh, a freelance worker, and Quach Thi Tra My, a sales employee at IPM Pharmaceutical Import-Export Co. Ltd., were each sentenced to three years and six months in prison. The remaining 18 defendants received lighter terms ranging from 15 months suspended to 26 months in prison.
According to the indictment, the VFA is tasked with advising the health minister and enforcing state management of food safety. However, between 2018 and 2025, several officials and specialists there allegedly exploited regulatory loopholes to solicit and accept bribes in return for expediting appraisals and issuing key permits, including product registration certificates, advertising content approvals, post-production evaluations, and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificates.
To speed up dossier processing, numerous service providers and companies reportedly colluded with VFA specialists, paying “unofficial fees” outside official channels.
Prosecutors alleged that former Director Phong tacitly permitted specialists to collect illegal payments of 5 million VND - 10 million VND (190–380 USD) per dossier on top of legitimate fees, with proceeds divided among himself and subordinates. Phong himself is accused of pocketing 2.5 million VND - 3 million VND per dossier.
Nga, who served as FSA Deputy Director from 2018 to 2024 before becoming Director until her arrest, was assigned the responsibility for approving advertising content certificates. She required that at least 2 million VND per dossier be paid to FSA leaders. After receiving the bribes, specialists reportedly passed 2 million VND - 3.5 million VND per dossier to Nga.
The Supreme People’s Procuracy concluded that Phong, Nga, and 32 subordinates abused their positions to collect more than 107 billion VND in bribes from 21 corporate and individual defendants.
Phong and Nga were identified as the ringleaders of the scheme. Phong personally benefited by an estimated 43.9 billion VND, while Nga received 8 billion VND. Long gained 8.6 billion VND, and Tuan 4.3 billion VND./.
