Hoàng Quang Thịnh and La Khắc Minh are among the defendants charged with violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences, producing and trading counterfeit food products, and money laundering. Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Supreme People’s Procuracy has completed an indictment against 18 defendants in a case that has sent sparked public ire, involving the production and sale of counterfeit HIUP-brand milk products that generated revenues of more than VNĐ2.4 trillion (roughly US$92 million).

Among those charged are Hoàng Quang Thịnh, chairman of the Board of Directors of Z Holding JSC, as well as La Khắc Minh and Nguyễn Văn Minh, both deputy general directors of Z Holding.

The three are prosecuted on charges of violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences, producing and trading counterfeit food products, and money laundering.

According to the indictment, from 2023 to May 2025, the three defendants exercised full control over and directed all operations of Z Holding and its affiliated companies.

Taking advantage of the companies’ legal status, they allegedly organised and operated a structured, systematic and prolonged criminal scheme, employing sophisticated and closed methods spanning the entire chain from production and distribution to consumption and the concealment of illegal financial flows.

A fake HIUP milk product seized by the police. Photo courtesy of the Environmental Crime Prevention Police Department (C05)

To facilitate their offences, Thịnh, Văn Minh and Khắc Minh allegedly directed the establishment of 26 companies, 27 sales systems, 208 sales groups and 179 individual business households, aimed at legitimising production and trading activities, tax declarations and the laundering of proceeds derived from criminal acts.

Through Nature Made Trading and Production JSC, the defendants allegedly organised and directed the large-scale production and sale of counterfeit products. They were accused of formulating product recipes that deviated from self-declared or registered product specifications, omitting or substituting ingredients to cut production costs and increase profits.

The defendants also allegedly built a multi-tiered distribution network, structured hierarchically from group leaders and deputy leaders down to sales staff. Products were mainly sold online, with false advertising about their features, uses, and quality to mislead consumers.

Counterfeit goods produced by the companies were distributed across most cities and provinces nationwide.

The indictment states that total revenue generated by firms within the Z Holding system from their production and trading activities exceeded VNĐ6.69 trillion ($254.2 million).

Expert assessments identified 26 products as counterfeit, with revenue from the production and sale of these fake products exceeding VNĐ2.43 trillion ($92.3 million).

Of this amount, counterfeit product revenue at Nature Made alone exceeded VNĐ417 billion ($15.8 million), while other Z Holding affiliates accounted for more than VNĐ2 trillion ($76 million). The three main defendants allegedly obtained illegal profits of over VNĐ149 billion ($5.7 million).

During their operations, to conceal actual revenues and evade financial obligations to the State, the defendants are accused of directing accounting teams to conduct tax declarations through Z Holding companies and individual business households, allegedly committing violations that resulted in tax losses of more than VNĐ1.63 trillion ($61.9 million).

In addition, they allegedly instructed the establishment of nominal investment funds which, in reality, were used to retain, legitimise and further circulate illicit proceeds.

Through transactions involving share transfers and real estate, they are accused of laundering more than VNĐ83 billion ($3.15 million) derived from the production and sale of counterfeit food products and serious violations of accounting regulations.

Regarding the crackdown on the HIUP nutritional product network, the Environmental Crime Prevention Police Department (C05) reported on June 25 that each unit cost only VNĐ87,000 to produce but was sold for VNĐ546,000 – nearly seven times its cost.

Investigators also found that HIUP falsely claimed to contain 37 nutrients, while testing showed only 15–17 were actually present, misleading many parents into spending heavily in the hope of improving their children’s immunity and brain development.

The product was mainly distributed through multi-level marketing schemes and social media campaigns, and was promoted as meeting 'European medical nutrition standards' and being 'designed for picky eaters and slow-growing children'. — VNS