Vietnam sells disgraced tycoon’s Hermes bags to recoup US$27 billion in damages

Vietnam auctioned off two Hermes handbags owned by real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, convicted in the nation’s largest fraud case, for 14.21 billion dong (US$539,000) as efforts to claw back billions of dollars in ill-gotten wealth accelerate.The government is auditing assets owned by Lan and her affiliates to recoup billions in losses after courts ordered her to repay US$27 billion in damages.Lan has so far repaid a total of more than 12 trillion dong to about 42,000 bondholders with more payments to come, according to a post on the government’s website, citing Ho Chi Minh City’s Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency. Lan still owes bondholders about 18 trillion dong.