Vietnamese property tycoon Truong My Lan has lost her appeal against her death sentence for orchestrating a $44 billion fraud.

The court ruled there were no grounds to reduce her sentence, but she may avoid execution by repaying 75% of the $12 billion she embezzled.

Truong My Lan controlled Saigon Commercial Bank for over a decade, using shell companies to siphon off massive sums.

Prosecutors say she misappropriated $27 billion and embezzled $12 billion, the latter being the crime for which she was sentenced to death.

Her death sentence is part of a rare and shocking case, as few women in Vietnam have been sentenced to death for white-collar crimes.

Truong My Lan, originally from a Sino-Vietnamese family, began her career selling cosmetics before investing in land and property.

At the time of her conviction, she was the chairwoman of the real estate firm Van Thinh Phat Group.

Her lawyers are working to sell assets, but many of them are difficult to liquidate, such as real estate holdings in Ho Chi Minh City.

She has appealed for leniency, arguing that her sentence makes it harder to sell assets at a good price to raise the $9 billion needed.

If Truong My Lan manages to repay the required amount before her execution, her sentence could be commuted to life imprisonment.