Vietnam sells disgraced tycoon’s Hermes bags to recoup US$27 billion in damages
Truong My Lan was convicted for embezzling US$12.3 billion from Saigon Commercial Bank in the nation’s largest fraud case
The government is auditing assets owned by Lan and her affiliates to recoup billions in losses after courts ordered her to repay US$27 billion in damages.
Lan has so far repaid a total of more than 12 trillion dong to about 42,000 bondholders with more payments to come, according to a post on the government’s website, citing Ho Chi Minh City’s Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency. Lan still owes bondholders about 18 trillion dong.
Lan’s two Hermes bags were sold in an online auction on Thursday, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.
The first, a white size 30 handbag with no gemstones, attracted four bids and went for about 2.54 billion dong, it said. The other one, a size 25 Hermes decorated with gemstones, attracted 119 bids before selling for 11.67 billion dong from its starting price of 1.77 billion dong, according to the newspaper.
Three luxury cars belonging to Lan – a Mercedes-Maybach, BMW and Toyota Motor Lexus – are set to be auctioned on Friday, according to the report.