Vietnam to sell tycoon’s yacht and Hermes bags to pay for fraud
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Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan was convicted of embezzling more than US$12 billion (S$155 billion).
PHOTO: MINISTRY OF PUBLIC SECURITY DSRV
HANOI – Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan pleaded with the court to let her keep two Hermes Birkin Himalaya handbags made of crocodile skin from the Nile River after she was convicted of embezzling more than US$12 billion (S$155 billion)
Though she expressed a willingness to part with prime real estate in Vietnam’s commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City to compensate for financial damages she caused, Lan told judges during one of her trials that the purses were personal, the Phap Luat Ho Chi Minh City news website reported. The court, however, ruled the handbags were the result of illicit gains.
The city’s Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency is looking to hire appraisers to assess their value as it begins selling off her luxury items. The handbags, favoured by celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Kim Kardashian, can sell for tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The authority is also auctioning her Reverie Saigon yacht on Feb 12 with a starting price of 49.3 billion dong (S$2.4 million), according to a portal for government asset auctions that is under the Ministry of Justice. It plans to sell off two other boats owned by the mogul – known affectionately as Madam Lan – for 4.8 billion dong each also on Feb 12, local media reported.
Her attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Lan, 69, who rose from selling make-up and hair accessories to become one of the nation’s most influential property executives, is facing decades behind bars.
The costly possessions are among more than 1,200 assets – including her vast real estate empire – tied to Lan’s fraud activities that have been seized by the authorities, VnExpress reported.
Lan was also convicted of money laundering and a US$1.2 billion bond fraud, wiping out investments for thousands of investors. Officials are assessing the value of her properties, some located in the heart of bustling Ho Chi Minh City.
Apart from imprisonment, Lan has to pay about US$27 billion in reparations, according to local media, which cited verdicts. The enforcement agency has returned 9 trillion dong to bond holders, Phap Luat reported.
The authorities are now offloading the trappings of lavish wealth most citizens in a country in which the average annual salary is US$5,000 can only dream about. BLOOMBERG
