Hermès Handbags Fetch 18 Million Baht at Auction After Vietnamese Billionaire Owner Sentenced to Life Imprisonment

Two luxury Hermès Birkin handbags seized from Vietnamese businesswoman Dương Thị Lâm were auctioned for a combined total exceeding 535,000 US dollars, or approximately 18 million baht, within just 30 minutes. The 68-year-old founder and chairwoman of Vạn Thịnh Phát Holdings received a life sentence after being convicted in Vietnam's largest fraud case involving the takeover of Saigon Commercial Bank through nominee companies over more than a decade. During that period, Dương ordered bank officials to approve loans totaling around 44 billion US dollars to companies under her holding. She was originally sentenced to death in 2024 but the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after Vietnam abolished capital punishment for certain offenses, and she was ordered to pay damages exceeding 27 billion US dollars or approximately 931.675 billion baht.

During the trial, Dương attempted to keep both Birkin bags as inheritance for her descendants, claiming one was purchased from Italy and the other was a gift from a Malaysian businessman. However, both were confiscated and valued before being auctioned along with over 1,200 other items at the Ho Chi Minh City Asset Auction Center. The white Birkin fetched the highest price at 440,144 US dollars or approximately 14.5 million baht, while the other sold for 94,858 US dollars or about 3.1 million baht, reflecting the global collector demand for rare Birkin models. The top-priced bag was a size 25 Birkin decorated with crystals on the lock and edges, closing at nearly seven times its opening price. Fashion luxury expert Nicolas Parnell noted that Birkin bags remain highly sought-after because Hermès restricts product access, making many models become collector items and investment assets.