Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade: 'Processing Lien Ket Viet is not slow at all'

Inspecting and fining the company 570 million VND after 7 months of operation, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai said that the management agency did not delay in detecting and handling violations at the Lien Ket Viet multi-level marketing system.

The leader of the Lien Ket Viet multi-level marketing system has just been prosecuted by the police for impersonating a company under the Ministry of National Defense, luring and defrauding 45,000 people to participate in multi-level marketing of functional foods and health care equipment. The event took place about 2 years after this business was licensed to operate, once again causing public opinion to question the role of the management agency (Competition Management Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade) in multi-level marketing activities.

However, speaking to the press about this issue, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade - Do Thang Hai said that the management agency has been proactive in checking with businesses and will not delay in handling and coordinating with the police later.

Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade - Do Thang Hai. Photo: PV

- As the industry management agency for multi-level marketing activities, how do you assess the recent scams that may have defrauded tens of thousands of people by Lien Ket Viet Company?

- Multi-level marketing is a popular activity in the world. For example, Malaysia has licensed more than 1,000 multi-level marketing companies, Thailand has more than 500, and Vietnam has only 65.In terms of quantity, we have tightened since the issuance of Decree 42/2014, giving licensing authority to the Competition Management Department, instead of localities as before.

This is an activity recognized by law. When joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), one of the provisions that countries require Vietnam to comply with is to approve activities, including multi-level marketing.

Seven months after the Competition Management Department was the focal point for re-issuing the license to Lien Ket Viet, the Department directly inspected and discovered a number of violations. The Ministry of Industry and Trade imposed an administrative fine of VND570 million for this violation.Afterwards, the Ministry also proactively coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security to set up an inspection team and discovered other violations.

Although multi-level marketing is a legal activity, the coordination between the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Competition Management Department and local authorities is still not tight.The Department only has 50-60 staff, and according to the decentralized function, there are enough management agencies at the local level, such as market management... but still could not detect the incident.

- However, it was a long time after the press discovered Lien Ket Viet's fraudulent behavior that the management agency decided to impose a penalty. What do you think about this delay?

- According to Decree 42, the Competition Management Department re-issued the license to Lien Ket Viet Company. By July 2015, the Department had begun to inspect the company's operations.Thus, after only 7 months of Lien Ket Viet's operation, we discovered and inspected and investigated the company's operations.It cannot be said that we were late.

Through inspection and investigation, the Department has imposed administrative sanctions as mentioned above.Regarding this company's continued violations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has proactively coordinated with the Ministry of Public Security to investigate and handle the matter.With its functions and powers, the Ministry of Public Security will make final investigation conclusions on the case.

- So what actions will the Ministry of Industry and Trade take to prevent similar cases from happening again?

- Next, we will review to see if there are any loopholes in the law, specifically in Decree 42, are there any regulations that multi-level marketing businesses can use to circumvent?In the case of Lien Ket Viet Company, I confirm that there is fraud and not simply multi-level marketing activities.This is also the crime that the Ministry of Public Security has prosecuted.

We also sympathize and worry about the interests of those who have been defrauded by this company. However, the exact amount of money that Lien Ket Viet has defrauded, how many people have been affected... must wait for the official conclusion from the investigation agency of the Ministry of Public Security.

Through this incident, we also hope that the authorities in each locality will further enhance their management role and tasks in detecting, preventing and warning about fraudulent acts occurring in the area.

Even those who participate in this business must carefully research and evaluate whether these multi-level products bring benefits to them and whether they violate their rights. Any business activities that are not in accordance with the law must be reported to the local authorities or the Ministry of Industry and Trade to prevent them.

According to VNE