Former Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long was sentenced to 18 years behind bars on January 12 for taking bribes totaling $2.25 million in a Covid-19 test kit scandal.

Sentences were also announced for 37 other defendants, including individuals from the Viet A Joint Stock Company, which produced the test kits, former officials from the Ministries of Health and Science and Technology, as well as former officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in many cities and provinces.

Phan Quoc Viet, CEO and Chairman of the Viet A Company, received 14 years in prison for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences, and an additional 15 years for paying bribes.

Vu Dinh Hiep, Deputy General Director of the Viet A Company, was sentenced to seven years in prison for violating regulations on bidding causing serious consequences, plus eight years for paying bribes.

Both Chu Ngoc Anh, former Minister of Science and Technology, and Pham Cong Tac, former Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, were sentenced to three years for violating regulations on the management and use of State assets causing losses and waste.

In December 2021, police arrested and initiated legal proceedings against Viet for raising the price of RT-PCR COVID-19 test kits and paying bribes to health officials to sell the test kits.

Viet and key company leaders admitted to colluding with leaders of hospitals and CDCs to supply Covid-19 test kits to hospitals and CDCs at prices set by the company, which were much higher than the production price.

The Viet A Company sold more than 4.5 million test kits, resulting in losses of VND1.235 trillion ($51 million), including VND402 billion ($16.7 million) for the State.