On the afternoon of 27/7, the Hanoi People's Court continued the trial of Nguyen Danh Dung, 38, a former officer of Department 4, Environmental Crime Prevention and Control Police Department (C05, Ministry of Public Security), on charges of intentionally disclosing work secrets.
Nguyen Nang Manh, CEO of MediUSA and Dung's friend, was also indicted on charges of manufacturing and trading counterfeit food, foodstuffs, and food additives; violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences; and giving bribes.
According to the indictment, starting in 4/2025, when the Police Department for Investigation of Corruption, Economic, and Smuggling Crimes (C03) began verifying signs of counterfeit manufacturing within MediUSA's "ecosystem" of companies, Dung allegedly leveraged his acquaintance with Manh to "tip him off" about the ongoing investigation and instructed him on how to handle documents and evidence.
The 88 functional food products involved in the case were later identified as counterfeit, intended for the elderly and children.
At the time, Dung was a police officer assigned tasks related to verifying these companies.
Due to their acquaintance, Dung proactively met with Manh and provided him with information that Manh's companies were "under scrutiny," instructing him on how to erase evidence.
>>Look up 88 counterfeit products
Showing a superior's directive message about the case
Testifying in court this afternoon, Manh stated that he met Dung around 2020 through professional connections and knew Dung was a police officer with C05, Ministry of Public Security, specializing in environmental matters.
The MediUSA owner therefore generally asked his friend for support if any problems arose.
By 2025, when Manh heard that "many parties were inquiring" about his company, implying it was under investigation, he proactively contacted his friend to ask.
Manh testified that the two met a total of two times, both at coffee shops, two days apart, in 4/2025.
At their first meeting, Manh claimed Dung "showed his phone" displaying a message from a unit leader. "The message stated that security was investigating these six companies," Manh recounted.
Seeing his company among the names, Manh said he was "very scared" and asked his friend what to do. "Mr. Dung advised me to scale back production, not stop entirely, but to discard any accounting documents and external data," Manh testified.
According to the accusation, Manh then relayed this to his subordinates, instructing them to destroy all actual accounting ledgers and computer hard drives containing counterfeit manufacturing data, dumping them into the Red River.
Two days later, the two met again at a coffee shop to "ask for any new developments," but there were none. There, Manh gave his friend an envelope containing 30 million VND, ostensibly as a "long time no see, 30/4 gift."
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Nguyen Danh Dung (right) in court. *Photo: Danh Lam*
Former C05 police officer: Shocked by the massive scale of counterfeit production
When questioned by the trial panel, Dung confirmed that he had shown Manh the superior's directive message.
"That was confidential information," the defendant testified, admitting that disclosing it to his friend was unauthorized and a mistake made due to insufficient awareness.
Dung also admitted to instructing Manh on how to handle goods and ledgers, but claimed he was unaware that the company was producing counterfeit goods on such a large scale.
"When working with the investigating agency and being informed, I was very shocked," Dung stated.
Regarding the 30 million VND received from Manh, Dung claimed it was not payment for disclosing confidential information. The defendant had already handed this money over to the investigating agency.
In addition to Dung, the case also involves three former customs and health officers indicted on bribery charges. Several former leaders and officers of the Food Safety Department have also been tried in a separate case related to functional food licensing activities.
The trial is expected to last for five days.
Thanh Lam
