Skimming Workers' Meals: A Hidden Form of Vietnam Procurement Fraud

bigVUN
Dec 4, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Jun 10

Meals provided during lunch, dinner, or overtime shifts are vital for workers' well-being and productivity, especially in foreign-invested companies adhering to Vietnam FDI regulations. Many businesses in Vietnam offer free meals as part of their employee welfare programs to comply with Vietnam labor law issues. However, this well-intentioned policy can become a loophole exploited by unethical individuals, leading to Vietnam procurement fraud and undermining Vietnam corporate compliance.

The Problem: Exploiting Workers’ Meals

Most workers have limited meal options and often hesitate to voice complaints about subpar quality due to fear of workplace repercussions. This vulnerability is exploited by individuals in authority through practices that contribute to Vietnam internal fraud cases, such as:

Fixed Kickbacks: Meal providers offer a hefty “thank you” sum to the person in charge after signing contracts, a common tactic in Vietnam corruption in supply chain.
Meal Budget Cuts: Responsible individuals pocket 10% of the invoice value monthly from suppliers, inflating Vietnam manufacturing costs.

Consequences of Fraudulent Practices

To offset these illicit gains, meal suppliers cut corners, resulting in severe consequences:

Substandard Food: Meals lack nutrition, with proteins like fish or meat often not fresh, forcing workers to skip meals or eat insufficiently.
Food Poisoning: Poor meal quality has led to health issues, prompting workers to bring their own food, sometimes violating workplace rules.
Poor Sanitation: Unregulated outside food increases rodent infestations in factories, with some client shipments found contaminated, causing reputational damage and highlighting Vietnam procurement risk.

A Case in Point: A Real-World Example

In a foreign-invested company in Vietnam, free meals were provided to comply with Vietnam labor law issues. However, after signing a meal supplier contract, the person in charge received a “thank you gift” worth 50 million VND, a clear case of Vietnam procurement fraud.
- Monthly Kickbacks: They continued to receive 10% of meal invoices, inflating Vietnam operational cost breakdown.
- Contract Manipulation: The director’s assistant ensured the contract remained active despite worker complaints, bypassing internal control in Vietnam companies.
- Inflated Reports: Approximately 30% of workers brought their own meals, yet the supplier and involved personnel profited from unclaimed meals, a practice BigVUN identified as a key Vietnam internal fraud case.
The result? Meal quality deteriorated, with 70% of meals left uneaten or discarded, persisting for months until BigVUN intervened with robust Vietnam fraud risk management.

BigVUN’s Solution: Transparent Management and Fraud Prevention

With extensive experience in Vietnam corporate fraud prevention, BigVUN delivers:

Tight Cost Management: Controlling input costs to align with Vietnam operational cost breakdown and reduce Vietnam manufacturing costs.
Service Quality Assurance: Ensuring meal services match their true value, addressing Vietnam procurement risk.
Fraud Prevention: Implementing Vietnam employee fraud prevention through segregation-of-duties dashboards and Vietnam whistleblowing policy to detect and prevent exploitative practices.

BigVUN’s solutions align with Vietnam anti-corruption measures, ensuring transparency and safeguarding workers’ rights while maintaining compliance with Vietnam corporate compliance standards.

Conclusion: Building Integrity for Business Success

Unaddressed Vietnam procurement fraud not only inflates Vietnam labor cost 2025 but also erodes trust and damages business reputation. By implementing robust Vietnam fraud risk management and transparent processes, BigVUN helps companies eliminate exploitative practices like skimming workers' meals, ensuring compliance with Vietnam corporate compliance standards. A culture of integrity not only safeguards workers’ rights but also drives cost efficiency and competitive advantage.

Contact us today for consultation and support to protect your business from Vietnam internal fraud cases and build a transparent, profitable operation in Vietnam!