Scandal couldn’t sink Vietnam’s priciest Birkins

Luxury, scandal and a high-profile auction – that’s the unlikely journey of two Hermès Birkin bags from the collection of disgraced Vietnamese tycoon Truong My Lan. The bags have now gone under the hammer in Ho Chi Minh City. The takeaway? Not even prison bars can dull the shine of a Birkin.

A Birkin with baggage

The bags’ former owner, Truong My Lan, is serving a life sentence for orchestrating one of the world’s biggest financial frauds, siphoning nearly $44 billion through Saigon Commercial Bank and a vast network of shell companies. During her trial, Lan pleaded to keep the bags, claiming one was an Italian souvenir and the other a sentimental gift she hoped to pass down as a family heirloom.

From tycoon’s closet to auction floor

The two white Hermès Birkins sparked a frenzy in Ho Chi Minh City, selling for a combined $535,000 in under 30 minutes. The star of the auction was a Size 25 Birkin with a rhinestone-studded clasp and trim, which fetched a staggering $440,144 – nearly seven times its opening bid after an intense bidding war. A larger Size 30 Birkin, considered slightly more practical for daily use, sold for $94,858. The luxury handbags were part of a massive 1,200-asset seizure by Vietnamese authorities attempting to recover losses linked to Truong My Lan’s financial fraud case. Even amid scandal and prison sentences, the Birkin’s status symbol appeal remains untouchable.

The bag that outlives scandal

If you think paying nearly half a million dollars for a pre-owned bag is crazy, luxury experts beg to differ. Because Hermès treats its supply chain like a state secret, Birkin bags are no longer just purses – they are alternative asset classes. Forget gold; buy leather. Hence proved: crime may not pay, but a Birkin always does.