Viet A loses labor medal over Covid test kit scam

The State President on Thursday abolished his decision to award a third-class Labor Medal to Viet A Company due to its "serious violations of the law, causing public outcry".

In February 2020, amid the Covid-10 outbreak surge, the Ministry of Science and Technology approved a national project to research and manufacture RT-PCR and real-time RT-PCR biological kits to detect new coronavirus strains, to be implemented by Military Medical Academy.

Of the 17 project members, 14 were Military Medical Academy staff and four from Viet A Company.

A month later, the Covid-19 test kit of Viet A was licensed by the Ministry of Health for temporary circulation, and was officially circulated in December 2020.

Many individuals and groups were then awarded. Viet A Company received a third-class Labor Medal in March 2021. There are three Labor Medal levels, with third-class the lowest. Viet A test kits were since provided to many cities and provinces across the country.

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 (CDC) 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 in early June that Viet A earned up to VND4,000 billion ($172.47 million) illicitly, of which VND800 billion was spent on bribes.

Many officials have been arrested for violations related to Viet A. Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long on June 7 was dismissed from his position for his involvement in the Viet A Covid test kit scam after being expelled from the Communist Party a day before.

Truong Quang Viet, Center for Diseases Control Hanoi (CDC Hanoi) chief, was detained on June 10 for wrongdoings in the scam, following the arrest of CDC leaders nationwide on the same charges.