Police in Phu Tho province have dismantled a massive transnational multilevel marketing network involving nearly 200,000 members, accused of selling dietary supplements containing banned substances.

On May 23, Phu Tho Provincial Police reported the takedown of a large-scale, cross-border MLM ring that marketed functional foods with illegal ingredients, posing direct threats to public health and illicitly profiting by trillions of Vietnamese dong.

The organization had nearly 200,000 members, including 107,348 Vietnamese citizens. The rest were foreign nationals from various countries.

Authorities began investigating after cybercrime officers detected signs of exaggerated claims about health benefits made by a suspicious supplement network operating online.

The fraudulent operation behind Bitney Vietnam

The probe led to the identification of Bitney Vietnam Trading Investment Co., Ltd., whose products and operations were found to be part of the illegal MLM ring. On May 14, police arrested four individuals for violating regulations related to multilevel sales methods.

Two key figures identified as the ringleaders were Tat Van Hao, 48, residing in District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, and Lim Choon Foong (also known as Nick Lim), 43, a Malaysian national residing in District 6, HCMC.

In 2019, Tat Van Hao founded and became the legal representative of Bitney Vietnam at 109 Street 22, Ward 11, District 6, HCMC. The company distributed various products, including Multi Juice mixed fruit juice, Lucenta deer placenta, and Bitney Multi Cream.

Tat Van Hao and Nick Lim then launched a multilevel sales model based on a “binary tree” structure. According to police, Bitney Vietnam had never received a license for MLM operations despite selling millions of products. These items were resold at several times their original import cost.

Toxic substance found in supplements

In 2022 and 2023, Ho Chi Minh City’s Food Safety Management Board tested Bitney Multi Juice at the National Institute for Food Safety Testing and the Pasteur Institute in Nha Trang.

The results showed the product contained Tadalafil, a prescription-only drug banned from use in food production. The compound is typically used to treat erectile dysfunction and must only be administered under medical supervision.

Police have seized nearly VND 2 billion (about USD 78,000), three cars, 15 mobile phones, seven laptops, and 41,800 boxes of Multi Juice.

Additionally, three company seals bearing the names of Bitney Vietnam Trading Investment Co., Ltd., Bitney Vietnam Trading Service Investment Co., Ltd., and Bitney House Co., Ltd., along with business registration certificates and related documents, were confiscated.

Phu Tho Provincial Police stated this is the largest MLM network involving foreign operatives ever exposed and dismantled in Vietnam. The operation illegally generated trillions of dong in profits.

The investigation is ongoing and continues to expand.

Duc Hoang