Hong Kong Tycoon on the Run Auctions Luxury Bags Worth 2.6 Billion Won

Hong Kong's 6th Richest Joseph Lau Surrenders Birkin Bags
Sentenced to 5 Years in Macau for Bribery and Other Charges in 2014

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] A 70-year-old Hong Kong tycoon, who was sentenced to prison in 2014 in Macau for bribery and money laundering charges and is currently on the run, is putting up 77 luxury brand handbags worth a total of 2.6 billion KRW for auction.

According to a report on the 29th by the Hong Kong South China Morning Post (SCMP), Hong Kong tycoon Joseph Lau (71) is putting 77 luxury handbags he has collected over the past 20 years, including six Hermes Birkin bags studded with diamonds, up for Sotheby's online auction from the 30th of this month until the 9th of next month. One of the Birkin bags he put up for auction is priced at 2 million Hong Kong dollars (about 310 million KRW), and the total value of the 77 handbags is estimated at 16.3 million Hong Kong dollars (about 2.6 billion KRW).

Herm?s Birkin Bag. Photo is not related to specific content of the article.

SCMP described this auction as "the largest handbag auction conducted by a single owner in Asia." Sotheby's also promoted it by saying, "You can find all the limited editions that have shaped handbag history over the past 20 years in this collection." They also added that a portion of the sales proceeds will be donated to charity organizations.

Lau, who runs the real estate development company Fine Hope Group, was sentenced to five years in prison in 2014 in Macau through a trial in absentia for bribery and money laundering charges. However, he has avoided serving his sentence by not entering Macau, and it is reported that he was even dining at his regular restaurant in Hong Kong on the day of the sentencing. Macau and Hong Kong do not have an extradition treaty.

According to Forbes' Hong Kong rich list announced in February last year, he ranked 6th among Hong Kong billionaires with a net worth of 13.7 billion USD as of last year.

Lau is a figure who has made headlines multiple times through auctions. In 2015, he won a blue diamond at Sotheby's jewelry auction for a record high price of 48.4 million USD at the time, naming the jewel "Josephine's Blue Moon" after his 7-year-old daughter. In addition, Lau purchased other jewels worth between 10 billion and 30 billion KRW, such as "Sweet Josephine" (28.6 million USD) and "Josephine's Star" (9.5 million USD).

Having suffered huge losses from stock investments in defaulted Chinese real estate companies like Evergrande, he is now selling various high-priced items through auctions. Following the auction of David Hockney's work "Splash" in 2020, he sold his famous wine collection through Christie's auction last year, earning 64 million Hong Kong dollars (about 10.1 billion KRW). He was known to own a high-end wine collection of over 10,000 bottles. Also, in March last year, he disposed of Chinese imperial porcelains worth 151 million Hong Kong dollars (about 23.8 billion KRW) through Sotheby's auction.