Two Hermes bags of convicted tycoon Truong My Lan fetch $531,000 at auction
Two luxury Hermes handbags belonging to tycoon Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat, were successfully auctioned in Ho Chi Minh City, generating more than VND14 billion ($530,970) for asset recovery efforts tied to one of Vietnam’s largest financial fraud cases.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City asset auction service center, a white Hermes bag in size 25 decorated with gemstones on the lock and trim was put up for an online auction on Thursday.
The handbag started with a reserve price of over VND1.7 billion (VND64,470) and drew 119 bids before being sold to an anonymous individual bidder for more than VND11.6 billion ($439,940).
Truong My Lan's white Hermes bag is put for an auction on May 21, 2026. Photo courtesy of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.
A second white Hermes size 30 handbag, which carried a starting price of over VND2.3 billion ($87,230), was sold after four bids for more than VND2.5 billion.
Combined, the two handbags contributed more than VND14 billion to the enforcement and compensation process linked to Truong My Lan’s criminal case.
The auction results drew public interest partly because Truong My Lan had previously downplayed the value of the handbags during court proceedings.
At trial, she said one of the bags had been personally purchased in Italy, while the other was a gift from a Malaysian businessman. She also requested permission to retain the two bags as family keepsakes for her descendants, arguing that “their value was not significant.”
The court rejected the request, deciding instead to confiscate the assets to support compensation obligations. Lan has been ordered to repay more than VND30 trillion ($1.14 billion) to victims and related parties in the Van Thinh Phat case.
The successful sale of the luxury items forms part of a broader asset liquidation process following the criminal judgment against Truong My Lan, who is currently facing a death sentence.
Chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group Truong My Lan at the court in 2024. Photo by The Investor/Le Giang.
Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City are continuing to verify, appraise, and process additional assets linked to Lan and related individuals and organizations. Those assets are expected to be auctioned publicly in future rounds as part of efforts to maximize compensation recovery for affected parties.
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Two Hermes bags of convicted tycoon Truong My Lan fetch $531,000 at auction
Two luxury Hermes handbags belonging to tycoon Truong My Lan, chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat, were successfully auctioned in Ho Chi Minh City, generating more than VND14 billion ($530,970) for asset recovery efforts tied to one of Vietnam’s largest financial fraud cases.
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