Hà Nội People's Court on January 14 delivered the verdict to 55 defendants in a major corruption case at the food safety administration. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — A court in Hà Nội on Wednesday sentenced two former heads of Việt Nam's food safety authority to lengthy prison terms for taking bribes, in the conclusion of a closely watched corruption case that authorities said undermined public trust and threatened consumer safety.

The Hà Nội People’s Court sentenced Nguyễn Thành Phong, former director general of the Food Safety Administration under the Ministry of Health, to 20 years in prison for bribery. Trần Việt Nga, another former head of the agency, received 15 years.

Two former deputy directors were also jailed: Nguyễn Hùng Long was sentenced to 12 years, while Đỗ Hữu Tuấn received seven years, the court said after 10 days of trial and deliberations.

In total, the court handed down sentences to 55 defendants in a case involving both bribery and offering bribes. Thirty-four former officials and staff of the Food Safety Administration were convicted of taking bribes, while 21 defendants – mainly business executives and individuals – were convicted of paying bribes.

The sentences for those convicted of accepting bribes ranged from suspended terms of 24 months to nine years in prison, depending on their roles. Those convicted of offering bribes received sentences from suspended terms to more than five years in jail.

According to the verdict, during the implementation of a 2018 government decree governing the registration and certification of health supplements, food additives and related products, the new rules introduced stricter documentation requirements, including scientific evidence of product efficacy and dosage, which authorities said created bottlenecks for businesses.

The officials at the Food Safety Administration exploited these difficulties by repeatedly requesting vague or unnecessary revisions to applications, deliberately delaying approvals in order to solicit bribes.

The court found that decision-making power over key technical assessments was concentrated in a small group of officials, fostering a “give-and-take” mechanism in administrative procedures.

Businesses, seeking to avoid delays that could disrupt production and sales, paid between 5 million and 10 million dong per application on top of official fees to speed up approvals or regularise incomplete dossiers, the verdict said.

Investigators determined that between 2018 and 2024, Phong and 34 former officials accepted more than VNĐ107 billion (about US$4 million) in bribes from 21 individuals and companies. Nearly VNĐ94 billion was linked to product registration approvals, more than VNĐ12 billion to advertising certifications, and over VNĐ1 billion to the granting of good manufacturing practice (GMP) certificates.

Phong alone was found to have received the lion's share – nearly VNĐ95 billion, of which he personally benefited by almost VNĐ44 billion. Nga received nearly VNĐ13 billion and benefited by more than VNĐ8 billion, the court said.

The panel of judges said Phong and Nga played key roles, setting the policy of accepting bribes, directing subordinates to carry it out and overseeing the distribution of illicit proceeds.

“The scale of the bribes was exceptionally large,” the court said, adding that severe sentences were necessary to reflect the seriousness of the crimes and the defendants’ leadership roles.

The court described the case as “particularly serious”, noting that the offences were committed over many years with the involvement of multiple senior officials in a sensitive area of state management.

The conduct, it said, damaged the credibility of state institutions, eroded public confidence and posed risks to public health by potentially allowing unsafe or substandard food products onto the market.

Trying the defendants and imposing strict penalties was necessary both to rehabilitate the offenders and to deter similar crimes, the court concluded. — VNS