A collection of Hermès Birkin bags belonging to a convicted Vietnamese property magnate has been auctioned in London for £430,000, triggering concern among British anti-corruption campaigners about the provenance of luxury assets linked to overseas graft.
The 25 handbags, including one studded with diamonds and another made from crocodile skin, were sold by a private vendor at a Mayfair auction house last week. The seller has not been named, but sources confirm the bags were originally purchased by Truong My Lan, 68, the former chair of Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, who was sentenced to death in April for embezzling $12.5bn from Saigon Commercial Bank.
Documents obtained by this paper show that the bags were shipped from Ho Chi Minh City to a bonded warehouse in London in 2022, months before Lan’s arrest. The auction house says it conducted due diligence, including checks against global sanctions lists. But transparency campaigners argue that the sale highlights a loophole allowing proceeds of corruption to be laundered through the luxury goods market.
“You don’t need to be a forensic accountant to see what’s happening here,” said a source at a UK-based anti-corruption NGO. “These bags were bought with stolen money. Now they’re being sold in London, and the proceeds will likely flow into a shell company. The UK is becoming a safe haven for the proceeds of global corruption.”
The auction comes amid a wider crackdown on kleptocracy in Britain. The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act, passed last year, introduced new powers to seize unexplained wealth. But critics say the regime remains toothless when it comes to high-value personal effects that can be moved across borders with ease.
Truong My Lan’s case is one of the largest corruption scandals in Vietnamese history. She was convicted of siphoning funds from a bank she effectively controlled, using the money to buy real estate, luxury cars, designer jewellery and fine art. Vietnamese authorities have since seized more than 1,000 properties and 500 bank accounts. But the Birkin bags made it out before the net closed.
“This is the kind of case that keeps me up at night,” said a former Metropolitan Police detective who now works on financial crime. “You have a convicted fraudster sitting on death row, and meanwhile, her handbags are being sold on a London podium. Where is the justice in that?”
The auction house defended the sale, saying it was conducted in good faith and that the funds would be held in escrow pending any legitimate claims. “We operate within the law and carry out all required checks,” a spokesperson said. But the source at the anti-corruption NGO was unconvinced. “The law is the problem. It’s not strong enough to catch this stuff.”
According to auction records, the most expensive lot was a diamond-encrusted “Himalaya” Birkin that sold for £140,000. The buyer is listed as a “private collector” based in the Gulf. The seller’s identity remains hidden behind a chain of companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.
“Every part of this transaction stinks,” the source said. “The money came from Vietnamese bank accounts. The seller is a shell company. The buyer is another shell. And the auction house takes its cut and moves on. This is money laundering 101.”
The Metropolitan Police’s Economic Crime Unit said it was “aware of the matter” but declined to confirm an investigation. Meanwhile, the £430,000 sits in a London bank account waiting for a buyer who may never be identified.
“We’re not talking about a few thousand pounds,” the source said. “We’re talking about nearly half a million. And this is just one auction. How many more are happening every week? The UK is a giant pawn shop for the world’s crooks. Until we close the loopholes, this will keep happening.”
