The Ministry of Industry and Trade announced on January 16 a number of wrongdoings at two multi-level marketing companies, Amway Vietnam and Thien Ngoc Minh Uy.

Many wrongdoings found at Thien Ngoc Minh Uy Company

Amway Vietnam couldn't prove that it had informed several departments of industry and trade across the country when it changed its business licence content on multiple occasions.

Meanwhile, the labelling of several functional foods at Thien Ngoc Minh Uy differs from those registered with the Vietnam Food Administration. Many contracts lack the information of the distributors. The company doesn't have training courses or issue member cards as regulated.

Similar to Amway Vietnam, Thien Ngoc Minh Uy also couldn't prove that it had informed local departments of industry and trade when changing the information on their business licence. In addition, Thien Ngoc Minh Uy had offered massage services to customers which could mislead the public that it also offers health care services.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has transferred the cases to agencies for investigation. The Vietnam Competition Authority was asked to deal with violations of multi-level marketing regulations. The results will be announced publicly.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh has tightened control over multi-level marketing companies after several instances of fraud. In March 2016, Anh set up many inspection teams to scrutinise seven companies such as Amway Vietnam, Thien Ngoc Minh Uy and VietNet JSC.

The teams including officials from Ministry of Public Security's Economic Police Unit, Vietnam Competition Authority, and Market Management Department. There are also officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade's inspectorate, Finance Bureau and Vietnam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency.

Many wrongdoings have been discovered. According to the investigation, tens of thousands of people have been tricked into joining multi-level marketing schemes.

The ministry will continue inspecting and deal with multi-level marketing companies that show signs of violations.