Abbott accuses Song Nam of fraud, fears for public health

The company sent a letter to the Ministry of Industry and Trade saying that Ho Chi Minh City’s Song Nam Investment and Development produced false letters to allow them to register imports and sell Abbott’s Ensure products throughout the country.

The letter to the ministry read in part “The forged document was a confirmation from East West Trading Partners that Song Nam was an authorised distributor for Abbott’s Ensure products in Vietnam and this is fraudulent.”

It continued in saying “East West Trading Partners have no business relationship with Abbott Laboratories and is therefore in no position to grant any rights from the company to Song Nam.”

The phony letter misled both authorities and Vietnamese consumers. As Abbott has confirmed the fraudulence, Song Nam has little retort and is in no position to appeal to become a registered importer.

Abbott was made aware of the suspected use of false and fraudulent documents by an unrelated third party regarding Abbott products when the Vietnamese authorities contacted Abbott for verification. However, since this matter is under review by the relevant government agencies, Abbott is not able to provide further information on the case at the moment.

Abbott strongly recommends that customers should only buy genuine certified Abbott products that are imported and distributed by its exclusive distributor, 3A Nutrition in Vietnam. These are easily identified by a “3A label” found on the top of the tin can and on the side of the bottle.  

Abbott is active in more than 150 countries and employs nearly 70,000 workers; its revenues last year topped $22 billion. It has been operating in Vietnam since 1995 distributing a diverse range of nutritional, pharmaceutical and medical products, as well as diagnostic tests. Its workforce in Vietnam is around 3,400.