Vietnamese Tycoon Jailed for Fraud; Two Hermes Bags Auctioned for 17 Million TWD

Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan is in prison for her involvement in a massive financial fraud case, and the government is working to recover her illegal gains. Local state media reported that two Hermes handbags she once owned were sold at auction for approximately 14.1 billion Vietnamese dong (about 17 million TWD). Truong My Lan and her accomplices were accused of embezzling over 304 trillion Vietnamese dong from Saigon Commercial Bank, which she effectively controlled through various proxies. This financial fraud case shocked all of Vietnam and caused significant losses for tens of thousands of investors. Truong was sentenced to death in April 2024, but after the Vietnamese National Assembly passed an amendment to the penal code in June 2025 abolishing the death penalty for eight crimes, her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Additionally, three cars once owned by Truong are scheduled to be auctioned today.