HÀ NỘI — Hà Nội Police announced on Thursday a series of regulatory violations they found at 14 facilities operated by AMES Training JSC, including unlicensed educational activities, the use of unqualified teachers, fire safety deficiencies and prolonged social insurance arrears.

The findings were made public following an inspection by the Internal Political Security Division of Hà Nội Police, which has been reviewing the operations of foreign language centres across the capital city.

According to police, the Hà Nội branch of AMES Training JSC is registered at No.92/1 Nguyễn Khánh Toàn Street in Nghĩa Đô Ward.

Inspectors found that two AMES centres were operating without the required licences: one at No.53A Lê Văn Hưu Street in Hai Bà Trưng Ward and another at No.154 Yên Phụ Street in Tây Hồ Ward.

Two additional centres continued enrolling and teaching students despite their foreign language training licences having expired several years ago. These included the Sài Đồng centre, whose licence expired in April 2023, and the Ocean Park centre, where the licence expired in July 2023.

Police said the violations breached Government Decree No. 04/2021/NĐ-CP governing administrative penalties in the education sector.

Authorities also found that 54 of the 63 Vietnamese teachers employed across the 14 centres did not meet the qualifications and standards required to teach at foreign language centres under regulations issued by the Ministry of Education and Training.

Separately, the AMES English centre at 154 Yên Phụ Street had not completed the required fire prevention and firefighting inspection and acceptance procedures, raising concerns over student safety.

Information provided by the local Social Insurance agency also showed that the company's Hà Nội branch had been in prolonged arrears on compulsory social insurance payments since March 2024.

As of May 2026, the company owed more than VNĐ5 billion (US$191,000) in unpaid social insurance contributions, with accumulated interest exceeding VNĐ800 million. Police said repeated reminders from social insurance authorities had failed to resolve the situation.

Authorities said the prolonged failure to pay social insurance had negatively affected employees' legitimate rights while demonstrating a lack of compliance with legal obligations.

In response to what police described as systematic and long-standing violations, Hà Nội Police have requested the municipal Department of Education and Training to conduct a comprehensive inspection of all AMES language training facilities in the city and impose sanctions in accordance with the law.

Police have also asked the city's Social Insurance agency to handle the company's insurance payment violations and coordinate with law enforcement should any evidence of criminal conduct emerge.

Founded in 2003, AMES is one of Việt Nam's most popular private English language training providers, operating dozens of centres nationwide. The company offers English programmes for children, teenagers and adults, as well as preparation courses for international proficiency examinations such as IELTS and TOEIC. — VNS