The Supreme People's Procuracy announced the indictment, recommending Khanh be prosecuted for abusing influence over people with positions and power for personal gain.
In the same case, Doan Huu Luong, Chairman of the Board of Members of TSL Science Co. Ltd.; Ho Thi Thanh Phuong, CEO of TSL Co. and Avatek Science and Technology Joint Stock Company; and Nguyen Ha Linh (Khanh's wife, Deputy Director of TSL, Director of Avatek) are accused of falsification in work and bribery. The remaining 97 defendants are charged with falsification in work.
All 100 individuals will be tried at the Ho Chi Minh City People's Court.
According to the indictment, at TSL Co., from 2020 to May 2025, Chairman Luong instructed subordinates to issue fake testing result certificates mixed with genuine ones. These fake certificates did not require sample collection, allowed easy modification of results, and could be backdated.
TSL also offered a policy for quick testing results. Customers only needed to provide testing requirements without submitting samples. Additionally, customers could modify results as needed and received a 30% discount per certificate.
Through this scheme, many businesses and individuals colluded with TSL employees to create comprehensive dossiers, priced from 3 to 15 million VND, depending on the complexity. Fake testing certificates were issued quickly.
Authorities accuse TSL of issuing over 118,000 fake testing result certificates to nearly 13,000 businesses and individuals, illegally profiting over 117 billion VND.
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A type of testing result certificate from TSL Company. Photo: TSL |
From February 2023, Ho Thi Thanh Phuong had a conflict with Luong and established her own company, Avatek. Using the same tactics, Phuong advertised "no sample collection needed, yet still satisfactory testing results"; and "customers are free to modify results."
From March 2023 to April 2025, Phuong is accused of directing Avatek employees to issue over 102,500 fake testing result certificates to 11,500 businesses and individuals, illegally profiting 83,7 billion VND.
After obtaining these fake testing result certificates, businesses and individuals used them to complete product announcement dossiers at the Food Safety Department of the Ministry of Health or to self-announce products at local food safety sub-departments, health departments, agriculture and environment departments, and industry and trade departments across various provinces and cities.
In addition to these actions, Luong and Phuong repeatedly bribed Khanh, totaling nearly 4 billion VND. This money was given to Khanh to lobby and influence relevant agencies, facilitating TSL Co. and Avatek Co. in obtaining testing designation licenses.
In return, Khanh's wife, Ha Linh, was employed by the company and given shares to manage affairs. After receiving the money, from 2020 to 2025, Khanh spent 1,5 billion VND on Tet gifts, meals, or "thank you" payments to 21 individuals after licensing decisions were granted. Each payment ranged from 10 million to 50 million VND. Khanh used the remaining 2,4 billion VND for personal expenses.
