Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan has been found guilty in what many consider one of the largest financial crimes the world has seen. Prosecutors say the case involves more than $12 billion in embezzled funds. The tycoon, who will be spending the rest of her life in prison and has lost her status, her homes, holdings, and reputation, has also been ordered by the court to pay about $27 billion in reparations. Yet despite facing a lifetime behind bars and a compensation bill that would cripple most nations, she still begged for just one thing, her Hermès Himalaya Birkins.
Not one but two of these holy grails of the handbag world were in her possession, and they were the only items My Lan pleaded with the court to let her keep. She did not ask for them simply as “family mementos” but specifically as heirlooms for her children and grandchildren. It is almost darkly funny that she did not fight for her Reverie Saigon yacht or her two other boats, Hai Au and Electra, nor did she cry over prime real estate in Vietnam’s commercial hub, Ho Chi Minh City.
According to Straitstimes, authorities have seized more than 1,200 assets and ordered her to repay about $27 billion. Yet, when it came to the hard-to-get Hermès handbags that the court ruled were bought with illicit gains, the mogul told the judges she wished to keep them as keepsakes to pass on to her family.
Every woman who possesses a Hermès handbag knows how much it can benefit her future generations, who, despite all their wealth and relentless spending, may still never get their hands on these coveted bags. The 69-year-old woman, the power figure behind Van Thinh Phat Group, rose from selling make-up and hair accessories to become one of the nation’s most influential property executives. The former owner of more than 1,200 assets is now left with nothing but decades behind bars. Yet while her massive portfolio is being liquidated, her heart and mind are set on the two Himalaya Birkins, a Birkin size 25 in white with stones on the lock and bag trim, and a Birkin size 30 in white.
The convicted tycoon stated that one was bought in Italy and the other was a gift from a Malaysian tycoon. If you ask me, this shows the power of fashion even more than the power of wealth, with a woman arguing over two handbags while the state tries to monetize entire city blocks. She even accepted that they were financially trivial compared with her other assets, but insisted they held emotional value for a woman who understands that owning a Himalaya Birkin is harder than reaching the summit of Everest.
The Niloticus Crocodile Himalaya Birkin is crafted from Nile crocodile, with painstaking hand-dyeing to mimic the Himalayas’ snowy gradient. Ultra-rare and offered only to top-tier collectors, such examples sell for around $100,000 to $500,000 at auctions, and the sky is truly the limit. Only a true Hermès collector can really understand the sentiment of Truong My Lan. Kylie Jenner once said she would save her own Himalaya from a burning house; Madam Lan seems to be doing the same thing, only she is trying in court to save hers from an asset-seizure bonfire.
