Former health minister faces charges for bribe-taking in Viet A case

HCMC – Former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long and former Minister of Science and Technology Chu Ngoc Anh have been facing charges of taking bribes and violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, respectively, in the Viet A case. His charges have been altered from “abuse of power and authority while doing official duties” to “accepting bribes” six months after his arrest. However, he received bribes worth VND51 billion from Phan Quoc Viet, general director of Viet A, then intervened to issue permits for the test kit’s circulation. C03 also proposed filing charges against Viet A’s general director Phan Quoc Viet, deputy director Vu Dinh Hiep, and some staff for their wrongdoings in the bidding procedures and giving bribes. The Viet A case is considered a “mass corruption” case due to its large scale and numerous defendants from central government agencies to local levels.