55 to stand trial in Vietnam food safety bribery case

The hearing is expected to last 10 days.

Among those facing trial are two former VFA directors, Nguyen Thanh Phong and Tran Viet Nga, along with two former deputy heads, Nguyen Hung Long and Do Huu Tuan, and 30 other officials and staff members. They have been prosecuted by the Supreme People's Procuracy on charges of "receiving bribes" under the Penal Code.

In addition, 21 defendants from enterprises and service providers have been charged with "offering bribes" under Article 364 of the Penal Code.

Former director of the Food Safety Authority Nguyen Thanh Phong. Photo by VTV

According to the indictment, the VFA is a specialized agency under the Ministry of Health, tasked with advising and assisting the minister in state management and law enforcement related to food safety.

Prosecutors alleged that between 2018 and 2025, several VFA officials and specialists abused regulatory provisions to solicit and accept bribes in exchange for appraising and issuing permits. These included product registration certificates, advertising content approvals, post-production appraisals, and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificates.

To accelerate the processing of applications, a number of service providers and businesses allegedly colluded with VFA specialists to pay "unofficial fees."

Investigators said Phong permitted, in principle, VFA specialists to collect illegal payments ranging from VND5 million to VND10 million (US$190–380) per dossier, in addition to official fees. The illicit proceeds were allegedly shared among Phong and his subordinates.

Former director of the Food Safety Authority Tran Viet Nga. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan

Nga, who served as deputy director from 2018 to 2024 and as director from 2024 until her arrest, was responsible for approving advertising content certificates. She is accused of requiring that at least VND2 million per dossier be paid to agency leaders. Prosecutors said specialists then passed between VND2 million and VND3.5 million per dossier to Nga.

From 2020 to 2023, Nguyen Nang Manh, chief executive officer of MediPhar and MediUSA, allegedly paid more than VND1 billion to VFA officials in exchange for preferential treatment, including VND330 million paid to Phong.

The Supreme People’s Procuracy concluded that Phong, Nga, and 32 subordinates abused their authority to receive more than VND107 billion ($4 million) in bribes from 21 corporate and individual defendants.

Phong and Nga were identified as the leaders of the bribery scheme. Phong is accused of personally benefiting by VND43.9 billion, while Nga allegedly received VND8 billion. Long is accused of receiving VND8.6 billion, and Tuan VND4.3 billion.

Separately, prosecutors charged 21 defendants with offering bribes totaling VND77.4 billion. An additional VND27.5 billion in alleged bribes remains under investigation.

Manh is accused of offering bribes worth VND3.4 billion but is currently being prosecuted separately by the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Police Agency for producing counterfeit food products and violating accounting regulations with serious consequences. Investigators said the bribery-related materials have been separated for further investigation so all offenses can be handled in a single case.