The hearing is expected to last 10 days.

Two former directors of the VFA – Nguyen Thanh Phong and Tran Viet Nga, along with two deputy heads – Nguyen Hung Long and Do Huu Tuan, and 30 subordinates, have been prosecuted by the Supreme People’s Procuracy for “receiving bribes” under Article 354 of the Penal Code. Meanwhile, 21 defendants from enterprises and service providers have been charged with “offering bribes” under Article 364.

According to the indictment, the VFA is a specialised agency under the Ministry of Health, responsible for advising and assisting the minister in state management and law enforcement related to food safety. However, between 2018 and 2025, several officials and specialists at this agency allegedly abused legal regulations to solicit and accept bribes in exchange for the appraisal and issuance of various permits. These included product registration certificates, advertising content confirmations, post-production appraisals, and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificates.

To expedite the processing of their dossiers, several service providers and businesses allegedly colluded with VFA specialists to pay “unofficial fees”.

Prosecutors accused that Phong allowed in principle VFA specialists to collect illegal payments of between VND5 million and VND10 million (US$190–380) per dossier from applicants, in addition to prescribed fees. The illicit proceeds were allegedly shared among Phong and his subordinates.

Nga, who served as deputy director of the agency from 2018 to 2024 and as director from 2024 until her arrest, was assigned the responsibility for approving advertising content certificates. She allegedly required that at least VND2 million per dossier be paid to agency leaders. After receiving the bribes, specialists reportedly 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 agency 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 powers to receive more than VND107 billion in bribes from 21 corporate and individual defendants.

Phong and Nga were identified as the leaders of the bribery operation. Phong allegedly gained VND43.9 billion for personal benefit, while Nga benefited by v8 billion. Long allegedly received VND8.6 billion, and Tuan VND4.3 billion.

In addition, prosecutors charged 21 defendants with offering bribes totalling VND77.4 billion. A further VND27.5 billion allegedly paid in bribes remains under investigation by the police.

Manh is accused of offering bribes worth VND3.4 billion but is currently being prosecuted separately by the Ministry of Public Security’s Police Agency for Investigation for producing counterfeit food products and violating accounting regulations with serious consequences. Investigators have therefore separated the bribery-related materials for further investigation to handle all offences in one case.

Hanoi court cuts sentences in ‘rescue flight’ bribery case

The High People’s Court in Hanoi on June 16 handed down its verdict in the appeal of 11 defendants linked to the second phase of the “rescue flight” bribery scandal, reducing sentences for several former provincial officials in a case that has spotlighted corruption in the country’s COVID-19 repatriation efforts.