China Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chinese court over multiple financial crimes, five years after the property developer’s collapse shook China’s economy and financial markets.
Hui, 67, pleaded guilty in April to eight charges, including fraud, bribery, misuse of funds, illegal fundraising, illegally taking public deposits, and securities-related offences.
The court in Shenzhen also ordered the confiscation of Hui’s personal property. Evergrande was fined 8.82 billion yuan ($1.31 billion), while its main subsidiary, Hengda Real Estate, was fined 7 billion yuan. Five other senior executives received prison sentences ranging from six to 18 years.
Evergrande, once China’s largest property developer, accumulated about $300 billion in liabilities before defaulting. Its collapse became a major symbol of China’s prolonged property crisis.
Hui founded Evergrande in 1996 and built it into one of China’s biggest developers by aggressively borrowing to finance rapid expansion. In 2017, he was ranked as Asia’s richest person, with an estimated fortune of $45.3 billion.
A Hong Kong court ordered Evergrande’s liquidation in 2024, while the company was delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the following year. However, the liquidation process has moved slowly, with creditors still seeking to recover billions of dollars.
Evergrande homeowners and investors have expressed frustration over the losses caused by the company’s collapse, with some questioning whether the imprisonment of Hui would help them recover their money.
The court said the crimes committed by Evergrande, Hengda and Hui caused significant economic losses and serious social harm, warranting severe punishment.
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