Strange points in the giant ecosystem of Hoang Huong

According to experts, the investigation into the case of Hoang Huong and the huge ecosystem that left thousands of billions off the books will be a lesson for many business people who commit wrongdoings, 'cope' with, and circumvent the law...

Ms. Hoang Huong at the police station - Photo: VTV

As reported by Tuoi Tre Online , the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency prosecuted the defendant Hoang Thi Huong (Hoang Huong, 38 years old, from Phu Tho) for "violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences".

"Strange point" of businesses related to Hoang Huong

Remember in 2021, early 2022, the name Hoang Huong pharmaceuticals suddenly "became famous" in the field of functional foods.

On social networking platforms, the image of Hoang Huong - who claims to be the general director of Hoang Huong Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company - appears frequently.

But checking the national business registration system shows that even in the enterprise named Hoang Huong, this character is not directly named.

Specifically, Hoang Huong Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company was established in August 2021 in Hanoi . The initial charter capital of the enterprise was 6 billion VND, contributed by three founding shareholders: Pham Thanh Phuong (90%), To Van Tuong (5%), Nguyen Thi Hang Trang (5%). Initially, the company was directed by Pham Thanh Phuong as director and legal representative.

In October 2022, the company increased its capital to 16 billion VND and at this time Mr. Nguyen Van Huy (born in 1993) was the director and legal representative.

Since its establishment, although the legal representative has changed many times, Ms. Hoang Huong has never appeared on any documents.

In an incident related to this character, in June this year, the Food Safety Department proposed to handle the advertising violation on the fanpage named "Genuine Hoang Huong Meli Pharmaceuticals".

The above brand was launched in December 2023, belonging to Beautiful Life International Company Limited. This company was established in August 2023 in Ho Chi Minh City.

When it was first established, the charter capital was only 100 million VND, with Mr. Le Van Kien as the owner and legal representative. But after 2 months of establishment, the capital increased to 5 billion VND.

By February 2024, the position of legal representative of the company was transferred from Mr. Kien to Mr. Nguyen Van Huy - who has the same year of birth and permanent address as the legal representative of Hoang Huong Pharmaceutical Company.

It is noteworthy that, although closely associated with the brand and image of Hoang Huong, her name does not appear in business registration documents.

Tax experts warn of scams

According to the investigation agency, Hoang Huong has 18 companies, 25 business households and 44 individuals doing business in her name in the ecosystem she established to sell functional foods, health protection foods and some other products.

To commit tax evasion, Hoang Huong directed employees to impose revenue on business households and individuals who registered for business.

From January 2021 to June 2025, Hoang Huong left nearly 1,800 billion VND in revenue off the accounting books and incorrectly declared nearly 2,100 billion VND in value-added tax revenue.

Hoang Huong's case is under investigation and expansion, and will be strictly handled according to regulations.

However, from the perspective of a tax expert, Dr. Phan Phuong Nam - Deputy Head of the Commercial Law Department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Law - mentioned to Tuoi Tre a tax fraud model: establishing a business with "sister" business households to reduce tax obligations.

Accordingly, businesses can sell goods to businesses at prices lower than market prices.

Revenue from business households - which are subject to tax based on revenue, while the actual profits of the parent company on the books are reduced because internal selling prices have been lowered.

Mr. Nam said that this behavior is not rare and can be completely detected if the tax authority accesses data, such as: whether the enterprise regularly issues invoices to a certain business household or a group of business households; what percentage of total revenue is generated from sales to those households; is there a large difference in internal selling prices, often lower than market prices...

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tu - former Editor-in-Chief of Tax Magazine, currently a lecturer at Hanoi University of Business and Technology - is also concerned about the phenomenon of businesses taking advantage of tax policies and the difference in tax obligations between businesses and business households to evade taxes.

Accordingly, many businesses also set up satellite companies to buy and sell in circles, recording revenue of thousands of billions of dong but reporting losses or profits at only symbolic levels.

According to experts, the investigation into the case of Hoang Huong and the huge ecosystem that left thousands of billions off the books will be a lesson for many business people who "cope", circumvent the law, and evade taxes. Any fraudulent behavior can only be covered up for a short time and the consequences will be huge when discovered.

BINH KHANH

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-diem-la-trong-he-sinh-thai-khung-hoang-huong-20251004165418191.htm