Vietnam Health Deputy Minister Arrested on Bribery Charges Amid Medical Equipment Probe

Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Health, Tran Van Thuan, has been arrested by police on charges of receiving bribes, according to Vietnamese state media. The move comes as part of an expanding investigation into alleged violations of accounting regulations and smuggling related to medical equipment. Authorities are investigating a case involving Viet My Medical Investment Joint Stock Company and related entities. The investigation reportedly uncovered that Mr. Thuan received bribes in connection with these activities. The Government Information Department stated that the amount of bribe money received by Mr. Thuan was "large," but did not provide a specific figure. Previously, the investigating agency had arrested three leaders from Viet My Medical Investment JSC: former Chairman of the Board of Directors Bui Chan Phuong, Director Ha Van Nam, and accounting head Tran Thi Hong Hanh. They are being investigated for "smuggling" and "violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences." Initial investigations suggest that Mr. Phuong operated three businesses in Vietnam and established eight companies in Singapore and Hong Kong to create intermediary trading chains. This allowed them to inflate the prices of medical equipment and drugs before importing them into Vietnam. The goods were then sold to hospitals and medical facilities at inflated prices, leading to revenue losses for the state and increased costs for patients. Mr. Thuan, originally from Bac Ninh province, holds a doctorate in oncology and was recognized as a professor of medicine in 2018. Before becoming Deputy Minister, he worked for many years at K Hospital and the National Cancer Research Institute, eventually becoming Director of K Hospital and Head of the National Cancer Institute in 2016. He was first appointed Deputy Minister of Health on April 29, 2020, and reappointed on April 4, 2025. Since May 2023, he had also been concurrently in charge of managing the Viet Duc Friendship Hospital during a period of personnel restructuring. He was also instrumental in initiating the "Bright Future" Cancer Patient Support Fund. On August 18, the Government newspaper reported that Deputy Minister Thuan had chaired a meeting to solicit opinions from ministries and sectors on the draft law amending and supplementing the law on donation, retrieval, and transplantation of human tissues, organs, and body parts, and donation and retrieval of cadavers, which was drafted by the Ministry of Health. The arrest of a high-ranking official like the Deputy Minister of Health underscores the Vietnamese Communist Party's ongoing anti-corruption campaign. Such actions are seen as efforts to maintain public trust and ensure the integrity of governance, particularly in critical sectors like healthcare.