Vietnam Seeks to Sell Tycoon Truong My Lan’s Birkin Bags and Yacht to Recover Fraud Losses

Vietnamese authorities are moving to liquidate a series of luxury assets belonging to disgraced real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, as part of ongoing efforts to recover billions of dollars she embezzled in what prosecutors called one of the largest financial frauds in global history. Among the items now slated for valuation or auction are two crocodile skin Hermès Birkin bags and a high-end Reverie Saigon yacht, according to announcements from Ho Chi Minh City’s Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency.

The agency said it is currently seeking qualified experts to appraise the value of the two Birkin bags, which were seized during the extensive investigation into Truong’s financial empire. Birkin bags, some of the most exclusive luxury handbags in the world, can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on material and rarity. Officials noted that Truong attempted to retain the bags during her trial, claiming one was purchased in Italy and the other was a gift from a Malaysian businessman, insisting she hoped to keep them as “family keepsakes.” The court rejected her plea, ruling that the bags were purchased with illicitly obtained funds.

Truong, formerly chair of the Van Thinh Phat property conglomerate, is currently serving a life sentence after being convicted in early 2024 of embezzling vast sums from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), Vietnam’s fifth-largest lender. Prosecutors revealed that over a decade she secretly controlled the bank, funnelling money through a maze of shell companies and fraudulent loans. The scheme was so sweeping that investigators linked Truong to $44 billion worth of financial misconduct, including $27 billion misappropriated and $12 billion embezzled.

Initially sentenced to death, Truong’s punishment was later commuted to life imprisonment after Vietnam revised its laws on capital punishment. Her trial was one of the most dramatic episodes in the country’s aggressive anti-corruption campaign, drawing widespread domestic attention and international scrutiny. More than 80 co-defendants, including her husband and niece, were tried alongside her and found guilty of various related charges.

Authorities have seized more than 1,200 assets tied to Truong’s vast business empire, including corporate holdings, prime real estate, luxury goods and personal valuables. The government has begun the slow process of liquidating these items to help compensate victims and offset the staggering financial losses left in the collapse of SCB. Last October, one of Truong’s properties in central Ho Chi Minh City was sold for over 600 billion dong, marking the first major recovery success.

The Reverie Saigon yacht — initially put up for auction earlier this month at a starting price of 52.4 billion dong — failed to attract any buyers. Authorities have scheduled a new auction for 12 February, lowering the starting price to 49.3 billion dong ($1.9 million) and requiring bidders to place a 20% deposit. Officials say they expect renewed interest following the adjustment.

Vietnam’s wide-ranging anti-corruption crackdown, now in its most intense phase in decades, has focused on reclaiming stolen assets and demonstrating accountability for high-level economic crimes. The liquidation of Truong My Lan’s personal luxury items marks another step in the government’s effort to show that no individual — no matter how wealthy or powerful — is beyond its reach.