Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (AFP) — The appeal of a Vietnamese property tycoon sentenced to death for fraud totaling $27 billion began on Monday after she pleaded for a more “lenient and humane” sentence.

Property developer Truong My Lan, 68, was convicted earlier this year of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) — which prosecutors said she controlled — and given the death sentence in one of the biggest corruption cases in history.

Tens of thousands of people who had invested their savings in the bank lost money, shocking the communist nation and prompting rare protests from the victims.

Lan, wearing a blue shirt, was brought to court in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday under tight security.

The court will review Lan’s request for a reduced sentence, along with that of 47 other defendants, during a three-week appeal attended by 100 lawyers, state media said.

Lan has also asked to be let off a $26.5 million court fee.

As the hearing began, around a dozen people staged a small protest outside an SCB branch in Hanoi, demanding the victims be repaid.

In her handwritten appeal of more than five pages seen by AFP, Lan said that the death sentence was “too severe and harsh.”

She asked the court to consider a more “lenient and humane approach.”