First auction of seized luxury bags from S$3b money laundering case closes, bringing in more than S$1.1m

A limited edition Louis Vuitton Yayoi Kusama pumpkin bag remained the most sought-after piece of the auction.

A limited-edition Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama Pumpkin Bag in monogram leather displayed at Le Freeport on Sep 10, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)

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SINGAPORE: A fierce 30-minute bidding war for a rare Louis Vuitton x Yayoi Kusama pumpkin bag – seized in Singapore’s S$3 billion (US$2.35 billion) money laundering case – sent its final price soaring on Sunday (Sep 20) night.

The limited-edition yellow monogram leather piece, which was a collaboration between the luxury fashion house and the Japanese artist who recently died at 97, eventually went under the hammer for an eye-watering S$87,000.

A flurry of 42 last-minute bids pushed the closing price to more than five times the auction house’s initial estimate of S$12,000 to S$16,000.

Conducted by auctioneer Hotlotz, the sale of the first tranche of 337 handbags and accessories from the high-profile money laundering case concluded on Sunday night. All of the items were sold and the total came in at more than S$1.1 million.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Like the pumpkin bag, several other lots saw strong interest from bidders. Necklaces, bracelets and a ring from Chrome Hearts mostly scored 30 bids or more, with the final sale prices coming in at several times higher than the estimates. A diamond double cross pendant necklace sold for S$11,000, about 10 times the estimated S$1,000 to S$1,500. Another Hotlotz auction for 286 pieces of fine jewellery seized in the case will stay open until Sep 27. Together, the two auctions were estimated to bring in between S$2.9 million and S$3.9 million in total. The frenzied bidding stood in sharp contrast to the lacklustre reception for luxury real estate tied to the same illicit network, where not a single seized property found a buyer when put up for auction on Sep 17. ICONIC LABELS DRAW FIERCE BIDDING Chanel bags, which made up the largest portion of luxury bags up for sale, and the Chrome Hearts jewellery were among the most popular items. A rhinestone-studded beige goatskin Chanel mini flap bag sold for S$15,000 – about a third of the 28 bids were made on Sunday. Loveholic founder Elaine Fung, whose firm sources for luxury items, said she expected iconic styles like the Chanel classic flap bags and Lady Dior bags to attract strong interest. These styles are widely recognisable even among those who do not usually follow luxury fashion, she added. “We also expected prices to be slightly above normal resale levels because of the publicity surrounding the auction. However, some bids have gone much higher than anticipated,” said Ms Fung. For example, a Chanel classic flap in caviar leather that was on auction sold for S$13,000. Comparable pre-owned pieces generally sell for below S$10,000, she noted. “The strong interest did not surprise us. The bid amounts did. The publicity and competitive atmosphere may be encouraging people to bid more aggressively,” said Ms Fung, adding that some bidders may also be unfamiliar with the current retail and resale prices.

Like the pumpkin bag, several other lots saw strong interest from bidders.

Necklaces, bracelets and a ring from Chrome Hearts mostly scored 30 bids or more, with the final sale prices coming in at several times higher than the estimates. A diamond double cross pendant necklace sold for S$11,000, about 10 times the estimated S$1,000 to S$1,500.

Another Hotlotz auction for 286 pieces of fine jewellery seized in the case will stay open until Sep 27. Together, the two auctions were estimated to bring in between S$2.9 million and S$3.9 million in total.

The frenzied bidding stood in sharp contrast to the lacklustre reception for luxury real estate tied to the same illicit network, where not a single seized property found a buyer when put up for auction on Sep 17.

ICONIC LABELS DRAW FIERCE BIDDING

Chanel bags, which made up the largest portion of luxury bags up for sale, and the Chrome Hearts jewellery were among the most popular items. A rhinestone-studded beige goatskin Chanel mini flap bag sold for S$15,000 – about a third of the 28 bids were made on Sunday.

Loveholic founder Elaine Fung, whose firm sources for luxury items, said she expected iconic styles like the Chanel classic flap bags and Lady Dior bags to attract strong interest.

These styles are widely recognisable even among those who do not usually follow luxury fashion, she added.

“We also expected prices to be slightly above normal resale levels because of the publicity surrounding the auction. However, some bids have gone much higher than anticipated,” said Ms Fung.

For example, a Chanel classic flap in caviar leather that was on auction sold for S$13,000. Comparable pre-owned pieces generally sell for below S$10,000, she noted.

“The strong interest did not surprise us. The bid amounts did. The publicity and competitive atmosphere may be encouraging people to bid more aggressively,” said Ms Fung, adding that some bidders may also be unfamiliar with the current retail and resale prices.

Christian Dior bags on display at Le Freeport on Sep 10, 2026. (Photo: CNA/Ili Mansor)

Hotlotz charges a “buyer’s premium” of 20 per cent on top of the closing bid, which includes Singapore’s goods and services tax that can be waived for foreign buyers.

Towards the end of each auction, if a bid is placed in the final five minutes before a lot closes, the bidding period for that lot is extended by a further five minutes.

This continues until a full five minutes has elapsed without another bid having been placed, Hotlotz explained on its website. This is why all of the lots in an auction usually close only a few hours after the scheduled closing time.

The auction that closed on Sunday is part of a series of 15 online auctions for items from the S$3 billion money laundering case, scheduled to run from September this year to May 2027.

The assets from the money laundering case were handed over by the police to audit firm Deloitte for liquidation in August last year.

Proceeds would be paid into the government’s consolidated fund, which is similar to a bank account held by the government. According to the parliament website, Singapore's revenues are paid into this fund and it is also used to provide for government spending.

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限量版路易威登草间弥生南瓜包依然是本次拍卖会上最受追捧的拍品。

2026年9月10日，路易威登与草间弥生联名推出的限量版南瓜包（Monogram皮革款）在Le Freeport展出。（图片：CNA/Ili Mansor）

这段音频由人工智能工具生成。

新加坡：在新加坡30亿新元（23.5亿美元）洗钱案中查获的罕见路易威登 x 草间弥生南瓜包，在30分钟的激烈竞价后，最终成交价在周日（9月20日）晚间飙升。

这款限量版黄色字母组合皮革单品是奢侈时尚品牌与最近去世的日本艺术家（享年 97 岁）合作的成果，最终以令人咋舌的 87,000 新元成交。

42名竞标者在最后时刻疯狂出价，最终成交价超过了拍卖行最初估价12000至16000新元的五倍。

由拍卖行Hotlotz主持的这场备受瞩目的洗钱案中首批337件手袋和配饰的拍卖于周日晚间结束。所有物品均已售出，总成交额超过110万新元。

CNA游戏猜词游戏：逐行破解单词；流行词游戏：用给定的字母组成单词；迷你数独：小巧的谜题，强大的脑力挑战；迷你填字游戏：小方格，大挑战；单词搜索：尽可能多地找出单词。显示更多 显示更少 与南瓜袋一样，其他几件拍品也吸引了众多竞标者的浓厚兴趣。Chrome Hearts的项链、手镯和戒指大多获得了30次或以上的出价，最终成交价更是远超估价。一条钻石双十字吊坠项链以11,000新元的价格成交，约为估价1,000至1,500新元的10倍。另一场Hotlotz拍卖会将持续到9月27日，拍卖品为该案中查获的286件高级珠宝。这两场拍卖会的总成交额预计在290万至390万新元之间。与此形成鲜明对比的是，与同一非法网络相关的豪华房地产拍卖却异常冷清，9月17日拍卖的被查获房产无一售出。标志性品牌引发激烈竞价。香奈儿包袋占据了待售奢侈品包袋的最大份额，Chrome Hearts珠宝也成为最受欢迎的拍品之一。一款镶满水钻的米色山羊皮香奈儿迷你翻盖包以15,000新元的价格成交——28次竞价中约有三分之一是在周日进行的。Loveholic创始人Elaine Fung表示，她预计香奈儿经典翻盖包和Lady Dior包袋等标志性款式会吸引众多买家。她的公司专门采购奢侈品。她补充说，即使是不关注奢侈时尚的人，也能轻易认出这些款式。冯女士表示：“我们原本预期，由于此次拍卖的宣传力度，成交价会略高于正常的二手市场价格。然而，一些竞价远超预期。”例如，一款香奈儿经典鱼子酱皮翻盖包在拍卖会上以13,000新元的价格成交。她指出，类似的二手商品通常售价低于10,000新元。“公众的浓厚兴趣并不让我们感到意外，但竞价金额之高却着实令人惊讶。宣传和竞争氛围可能促使人们更加积极地出价。”冯女士补充道，一些竞拍者可能也不熟悉目前的零售和二手市场价格。

与南瓜袋一样，其他几件拍品也引起了竞拍者的浓厚兴趣。

Chrome Hearts的项链、手链和戒指大多获得30次或以上的竞价，最终成交价远超估价。一条钻石双十字吊坠项链以11,000新元成交，约为估价1,000至1,500新元的10倍。

另一场由Hotlotz拍卖行举办的、针对此案中查获的286件高级珠宝的拍卖会将持续到9月27日。这两场拍卖会加起来预计将带来290万至390万新元的总收入。

与此形成鲜明对比的是，与同一非法网络相关的豪华房地产的冷清拍卖，9 月 17 日拍卖的被查获房产无一找到买家。

标志性品牌引发激烈竞价

香奈儿包袋在待售的奢侈品包袋中占比最大，而Chrome Hearts珠宝则是最受欢迎的商品之一。一款镶满水钻的米色山羊皮香奈儿迷你翻盖包以15,000新元的价格成交——在28次竞价中，约有三分之一是在周日进行的。

Loveholic 的创始人 Elaine Fung 表示，她的公司专门采购奢侈品，她预计香奈儿经典翻盖包和 Lady Dior 包等标志性款式将引起人们的浓厚兴趣。Loveholic 是一家专门采购奢侈品的公司。

她补充说，即使是不关注奢侈时尚的人，也能轻易认出这些风格。

冯女士表示：“由于拍卖会的宣传效应，我们原本预计价格会略高于正常的转售水平。然而，一些出价远超预期。”

例如，一款香奈儿经典鱼子酱皮翻盖包在拍卖会上以13000新元的价格成交。她指出，类似的二手商品通常售价低于10000新元。

冯女士表示：“大家的浓厚兴趣并不让我们感到意外，但竞标金额之高却着实令人惊讶。宣传和竞争氛围可能促使人们更加积极地出价。”她还补充说，一些竞标者可能也不熟悉目前的零售价和转售价。

2026年9月10日，克里斯汀·迪奥 (Christian Dior) 手袋在 Le Freeport 展出。（图片：CNA/Ili Mansor）

Hotlotz 在成交价的基础上加收 20% 的“买家佣金”，其中包括新加坡的商品和服务税，外国买家可以免除该税。

在每场拍卖即将结束时，如果在拍品结束前的最后五分钟内有人出价，则该拍品的竞价时间将再延长五分钟。

Hotlotz在其网站上解释说，这种情况会一直持续到五分钟内无人出价为止。这就是为什么拍卖会上的所有拍品通常会在预定结束时间后几个小时才结束的原因。

周日结束的这场拍卖是针对涉案金额高达 30 亿新元的洗钱案物品举行的 15 场在线拍卖系列活动的一部分，该系列活动计划从今年 9 月持续到 2027 年 5 月。

去年8月，警方将洗钱案中的资产移交给审计公司德勤进行清算。

所得款项将汇入政府综合基金，该基金类似于政府持有的银行账户。根据国会网站的信息，新加坡的财政收入都汇入该基金，该基金也用于支付政府开支。

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