CDC Hanoi chief detained over Covid kit test scandal

The Center for Diseases Control Hanoi (CDC Hanoi) chief was detained Friday for wrongdoings in the Covid-19 test kit scam triggered by Viet A Company, following the arrest of CDC leaders nationwide on the same charges.

The Hanoi Police's investigative agency is probing Truong Quang Viet, CDC Hanoi's director, on charges of "violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences."

Viet, 49, was appointed to the position in February this year after almost two years as the acting head though he was a deputy director. The appointment came after the director, Nguyen Nhat Cam, was arrested for "inflating the price" of Covid-19 test kits provided by Viet A Company and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

According to Vietnamese authorities, the medical workers assigned in 2020 to bid for purchases of Covid-19 test kits had "connected and colluded" with employees of Viet A to acquire test kits in advance, and completed bidding documents later. The act helped the Vietnamese firm become the unique entity in bidding and be the winner. Viet A then got back to them with bribes.

Initial investigation results show that CDC Hanoi had put product features into the bidding documents to ensure that only Viet A won the bids. The violations caused more than VND9 billion (over $388,000) in damage to the state budget.

The CDC leaders in many provinces and cities nationwide have been accused of "violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences" in the Viet A scam.

Phan Quoc Viet, CEO of Viet A Company, was arrested in December 2021. He then admitted he had inflated the price of a Covid-19 test kit by 45% and given huge bribes to corporate partners and leaders of provincial and city centers for disease control nationwide, asking them to distribute and use Covid-19 test kits provided by his company.

Lieutenant General To An Xo, chief of staff and spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security, told a government meeting on Saturday that Viet A earned up to VND4,000 billion ($172.47 million) illicitly, of which VND800 billion was spent on bribes.