Defendants at a court on January 14. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — Former heads of the Việt Nam Food Administration under the Ministry of Health have filed appeals seeking reduced sentences in a major bribery case involving officials and businesses.

Defendants Nguyễn Thanh Phong and Trần Việt Nga, both former directors of the Việt Nam Food Administration, along with Nguyễn Hùng Long and Đỗ Hữu Tuấn, former deputy directors of the agency, have submitted appeals requesting sentence reductions after being convicted of accepting bribes.

Nearly two months after the trial concluded and verdicts were delivered in the case involving 55 defendants accused of giving and receiving bribes at the agency, the Hà Nội People’s Court has received appeals from 35 defendants asking the appellate court to reconsider and reduce their sentences.

Among the 35 appellants, 13 have requested suspended sentences.

Earlier, between January 5 and 14, the court tried the case and handed down prison terms to the department’s former heads.

Phong was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while Nga received 15 years.

Two former deputy directors were also convicted. Long was sentenced to 12 years in prison and Tuấn to seven years.

Meanwhile, 30 subordinate officials were given sentences ranging from 24 months in prison with suspended sentences to nine years’ imprisonment for the same charge of “receiving bribes”.

For the group of 21 defendants tried for “giving bribes,” the court handed down sentences including five years and six months in prison for Trần Thị Quỳnh Trang, a pharmacist residing in Việt Hưng Ward in Hà Nội, and four years and six months for Nguyễn Việt Anh, former director of Balactan Vietnam Co., Ltd.

Lê Thị Thu Hà of Thanh Xuân Ward in Hà Nội, Lại Thị Thu Anh, director of Great Health Vietnam Co., Ltd., Nguyễn Thị Vinh, a freelance worker, and Quách Thị Trà My, a sales employee at IPM Chemical Pharmaceutical Import-Export Co., Ltd., were each sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

The remaining 18 defendants received sentences ranging from 15 months in prison with suspended sentences to 26 months’ imprisonment.

Under the first-instance verdict, difficulties arose during the implementation of Decree No 15/2018, which requires organisations and individuals producing or trading in health supplements, mixed food additives with new functions, or additives not listed among those permitted for use in food to register product declarations with the ministry.

The regulation introduced several new requirements that created obstacles for individuals and businesses when completing application dossiers, particularly those related to providing scientific documentation proving product efficacy and dosage.

Taking advantage of the difficulties and regulatory gaps, specialists and heads of relevant professional units within the Việt Nam Food Administration repeatedly issued requests for applicants to revise and supplement their dossiers using vague or confusing instructions, thereby creating delays or complications in the processing of applications in order to seek illicit gains.

For businesses seeking to avoid delays in product approval, which would prevent them from producing and marketing their products, many of them proactively offered payments of between VNĐ5 million (US$191) and VNĐ10 million ($382) per application, in addition to official fees, to speed up the appraisal process or legitimise incomplete dossiers in order to obtain certificates of receipt, confirmation documents or Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification.

Investigators determined that between 2018 and 2024, Phong and 34 other defendants accepted more than VNĐ107 billion ($4.08 million) in bribes from 21 individuals and businesses.

The court identified Phong and Nga as the principal organisers and ringleaders who initiated the bribery scheme and arranged the distribution of illicit payments according to hierarchical positions.

Of the total bribes received, nearly VNĐ94 billion ($3.6 million) was related to the issuance of certificates of receipt, more than VNĐ12 billion ($457,000) to confirmation certificates, and over VNĐ1 billion ($38,000) to GMP certifications. — VNS