A flurry of luxury cars, handbags and yachts were put up for auction, but they did little to repay the billions owed to victims by their owners, disgraced Vietnamese tycoons, in one of the biggest frauds in history.
Truong My Lan, once one of Vietnam’s richest businesswomen, was given two life sentences for her role in a fraud scheme that siphoned around $44 billion through one of Vietnam’s largest banks, along with an accomplice.
She embezzled $12 billion in one of her convictions and was sentenced to death in 2024 unless she repaid three-quarters of that amount.
The severity of the sentence at the time reflected the scale of Lan’s misconduct and the authorities’ efforts to restore investor confidence.
Last year, Vietnam abolished the death penalty for eight crimes, including embezzlement. Lan’s death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment.
But she still has a long way to go before she pays the $27 billion she owes crime victims.
In May, two of Ran’s Hermès handbags were sold at an online auction for about $539,000.
This was despite Truong’s request that her Birkin bags – one bought in Italy and the other given to her by a Malaysian billionaire – be returned as keepsakes for her children and grandchildren.
Three luxury cars owned by Mr Lan were also destroyed last month. A four-seat white Maybach started at about $265,000, a five-seat blue BMW for $36,700 and a five-seat black Lexus for $29,000. The Maybach sold for approximately $630,000.
Nguyen Thi Huyen Tran, a lawyer who previously represented Lan, said the proceeds would first be used to pay judgment enforcement and auction costs, as well as court costs and attorney fees.
Nguyen told CNN that Lan has repaid approximately $455,000 so far, and that the Ho Chi Minh City Judicial Enforcement Department is still actively processing assets related to Lan for damages.
Earlier this year, Ho Chi Minh City authorities tried to auction Lan’s yacht, Reverie Saigon, for about $2 million. After a few tries, they lowered their starting bid by 18%. Mr. Lunn’s two other boats, each valued at about $175,000, have not found buyers.
According to local media outlet VnExpress, it is usually difficult to auction seized assets in Vietnam. Some items were put up for sale more than 10 times without success.
Mr. Lan, 69, built a vast real estate empire of luxury homes and commercial properties before he was charged with one of the biggest frauds in world history. Investigators say she borrowed $44 billion in loans and cash from shell companies and accomplices and bribed regulators and officials to cover her tracks.
In addition to the $12 billion case, Lang was also sentenced to life in prison in another case for fraud, money laundering, and obtaining property through illegal cross-border transfers.
Hoang-Hai Dang contributed reporting from Hanoi.
