Prosecutors announce indictments in Việt Á Case

HÀ NỘI — Military prosecutors announced the indictment against Phan Quốc Việt and six other defendants in the notorious Việt Á Case on December 28. Former General Director of Việt Á Company, Phan Quốc Việt, meanwhile, was slapped with two charges of "abusing position and power while on duty" and "violating bidding regulations to serious damages". According to the indictment, as COVID-19 was emerging globally, the board of the Military Medical Academy called for the formulation of research teams to develop testing kits for COVID-19. In January 2020, Trịnh Thanh Hùng, Phan Quốc Việt and Hồ Anh Sơn collaborated with Phan Quốc Việt to make Việt Á part of their team and secured a licence for the company to mass produce 20,000 testing kits. In return, Phan Quốc Việt greased Hùng's palm with US$350,000 and Sơn's with VNĐ2.5 billion ($103,000).