The frenzied bidding is in sharp contrast to the lacklustre reception for luxury real estate tied to the same illicit network
3-MIN READ3-MINCNAPublished: 11:33am, 21 Sep 2026A 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 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 (US$862,000).
