Founder of collapsed Chinese real estate giant sentenced to life in prison

The founder of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to fundraising fraud and bribery. The court confiscated his assets and fined the company 8.82 billion yuan. 56 additional defendants were punished, including Hui's two sons.

The founder of Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, was sentenced to life in prison by a court in China, after pleading guilty to fundraising fraud and bribery. The sentence marks the low point in the career of one of the symbols of China's real estate bubble. According to the official Xinhua news agency, Hui's assets will be confiscated. Meanwhile, Evergrande, which is traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, was fined 8.82 billion yuan, and its local company, Hengda Real Estate, was fined 7 billion yuan. The court ruled that both companies inflated assets and concealed liabilities "continuously and on a large scale." In the case, sentences were handed down to 56 additional defendants, including Hui's two sons, ranging from 22 months to 18 years in prison. Hui, who was once the second richest person in Asia, built an empire that included real estate, electric vehicles, and other businesses. The crisis in China's real estate market collapsed the group, and in 2024 a Hong Kong court ordered its liquidation after it failed to reach an agreement with its creditors. Evergrande's collapse became one of the most prominent symbols of the crisis in China's real estate industry.