“How Did Pham Van Cach, Chairman of Son Lam Company, Bribe 71 Billion VND to Get His Drugs into Hospitals?”

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Security Agency has concluded its investigation into a case of “fraudulent appropriation of property; bribery and acceptance of bribes” involving LanQ Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and related entities.

According to current regulations, private medical facilities are not allowed to organize direct bidding and must purchase medicines based on bidding results conducted by the Department of Health or public medical facilities. Taking advantage of this, Mr. Nguyen Manh Quyen, former Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of LanQ Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, colluded with Mr. Pham Van Cach, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Son Lam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, to organize bidding to select medicine suppliers.

As planned, Son Lam Company would “support” LanQ Company by fraudulent means, ensuring that Son Lam Company was the sole bidder at the highest possible price based on the capacity of both sides. The purpose was to legitimize high drug input prices and thus claim large sums from the Bac Giang Social Insurance agency, while sharing the benefits gained.

Through collected documents, the Investigation Security Agency determined that suspect Pham Van Cach, in his role as Chairman of Son Lam Pharmaceutical JSC, colluded with suspect Nguyen Manh Quyen to commit fraudulent acts, appropriating over VND 18 billion from the Bac Giang Social Insurance agency and co-payers.

During the extended investigation, the agency also uncovered acts of “bribery” by Nguyen Manh Quyen and Pham Van Cach. To facilitate the disbursement of advance medical examination and treatment funds for LanQ Company, Mr. Quyen instructed Ms. Nguyen Kim Thuy to bribe Mr. Than Duc Lai, former Director of Bac Giang Social Insurance, with VND 700 million.

Meanwhile, following Pham Van Cach’s instructions, suspect Le Van Tinh, Deputy Director of Son Lam Company, agreed to bribe individuals with authority in several hospitals and medical centers with over VND 10 billion to ensure uninterrupted medicine supply by Son Lam Company.

The Investigation Security Agency determined that Le Van Tinh’s actions constituted the crime of “fraudulent appropriation of property” and that he was an accomplice to Nguyen Manh Quyen in the crime of “bribery.”

Additionally, during the extended investigation, the Ministry of Public Security discovered multiple instances of “bribery” and “acceptance of bribes” at hospitals and medical centers nationwide.

Although Son Lam Company won the bid legitimately, to ensure a smooth medicine supply process, suspect Pham Van Cach bribed individuals with authority in hospitals and medical centers with over VND 71 billion before, during, and after the contract implementation.

Among the recipients of these bribes was suspect Huynh Nguyen Loc, former Director of the Institute of Ethnic Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City, who had the authority to decide on the signing and implementation of contracts for medicine procurement for insured medical examinations and treatments at the institute. Mr. Loc received bribes totaling more than VND 47 billion from Pham Van Cach to facilitate Son Lam Company’s medicine supply to the institute.

Similarly, suspect Truong Thi Thu Huong, Director of the Traditional Medicine Hospital of Thai Nguyen province, with the authority to decide on contracts for medicine procurement for insured medical examinations and treatments at the hospital, demanded that Pham Van Cach pay “commissions” ranging from 10% to 30% on each invoice (excluding VAT). As of her arrest, Ms. Huong had received more than VND 10 billion.