Sources confirm that a collection of Hermès Birkin bags, once owned by the jailed Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan, has sold at auction for £435,000. The sale, conducted by a Hanoi-based auction house, is the latest act in Vietnam’s escalating crackdown on high-level corruption, which has already seen Lan sentenced to death for fraud totalling £24 billion.
The bags, 62 in total, included rare crocodile-skin and diamond-encrusted designs, some valued at over £50,000 individually. Proceeds will be seized by the state, part of a wider effort to recover assets from Lan’s vast property empire, which includes the Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group.
Uncovered documents leaked to this desk reveal that the auction was not widely publicised, with only pre-approved bidders invited. The move underscores the government’s determination to strip corrupt figures of their ill-gotten luxury, but it also raises questions: where is the rest of the money? Lan’s assets were once estimated at £40 billion. The sale of a few handbags barely scratches the surface.
The corruption crackdown, championed by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, has netted dozens of officials and business leaders since 2022. But critics argue it is a selective purge, targeting rivals to consolidate power. Lan’s case is a prime example: her death sentence for financial crimes stands as a warning to anyone who dares challenge the system.
Yet the public spectacle of selling off Birkin bags feels almost theatrical. The bags, symbols of unaccountable wealth and privilege, are now tokens of a justice system that demands blood and retribution. But the real story is not in the leather and stitching. It is in the billions that remain hidden, the offshore accounts that have not been traced, and the officials who still live comfortably.
This is a countdown. The government’s message is clear: we will find you, we will take your bags, and we will hang them in a museum of shame. But for every Birkin sold, there are ten more hoarded in vaults. The crackdown must go deeper, or it is just theatre.
Lan’s trial and the auction of her belongings have become a morbid currency of power. The tycoon’s fall is now a cautionary tale, but not for the reasons the government intends. It demonstrates that in Vietnam, even the most lavish fortunes can be reclaimed by the state – if they choose to. The question remains: who is next?
