Her lawyers have argued for leniency from the judges on financial grounds. They said that while she is under sentence of death it would be hard for her to negotiate the best price for selling her assets and investments, and so harder for her to raise $9bn.

She could do much better if under a life sentence instead, they say.

“The total value of her holdings actually exceeds the required compensation amount,” lawyer Nguyen Huy Thiep told the BBC before her appeal was rejected.

“However, these require time and effort to sell, as many of the assets are real estate and take time to liquidate. Truong My Lan hopes the court can create the most favourable conditions for her to continue making compensation.”

Few had expected the judges to be moved by these arguments. She is now, in effect, in a race with the executioner to raise the funds she needs.

Vietnam treats the death penalty as a state secret. The government does not publish how many people are on death row, though human rights groups say there are more than 1,000 and that Vietnam is one of the world’s biggest executioners.

Typically there are long delays, often many years before sentences are carried out, although prisoners are given very little notice.

If Truong My Lan can recover the $9bn before that happens, her life will most likely be spared.