In Vietnam, Truong My Lan, a prominent property tycoon, was convicted in a grand embezzlement scheme that totaled over US$12 billion. This ruling came after extensive investigations into her manipulation of funds tied to Saigon Commercial Bank, where she secretly controlled operations for more than a decade. The court's findings indicated that the tycoon employed a complex network of shell companies to siphon off funds from the bank, resulting in significant financial losses for thousands of investors. As a consequence of her fraudulent activities, Lan was initially sentenced to death in April 2024, but this was later commuted to a life sentence after legal amendments in Vietnam which affected punitive measures for economic crimes. In light of her conviction, authorities moved to seize a vast array of assets linked to her, including properties, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and personal items, aiming to recover losses incurred by her victims. Among the seized items were two highly valuable Hermes Birkin handbags, which Lan claimed were personal items intended as keepsakes for her family. However, the courts ruled that these luxurious items were derived from illicit gains and thus subject to forfeiture. This ruling, along with the auctioning of her other luxury possessions, highlighted the Vietnamese government’s commitment to recovering losses from fraud and compensating affected parties. As of the current date, the Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency was tasked with assessing the value of these items for auction, with reports indicating plans to sell them at substantial starting prices. The overarching goal behind these decisions is to retrieve funds to be paid to investors and bondholders, with estimates suggesting that billions could still be owed by Lan as part of her reparations, which total around US$27 billion according to court verdicts.