Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, founder of property developer Evergrande stands trial at the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, August 20, 2026
THE founder of a collapsed Chinese property giant has been sentenced to life in prison.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court convicted Hui Ka Yan and the Evergrande real estate group of engaging in large-scale financial fraud in inflating the group’s assets and concealing its liabilities.
Evergrande collapsed with more than $300 billion (£222bn) in liabilities when Chinese authorities cracked down on excessive borrowing in the real estate industry in 2020.
The court also said Mr Hui abused his position in orchestrating financial fraud and misappropriating company assets.
It sentenced several other senior Evergrande executives to prison terms of up to 18 years on charges including illegally taking public deposits and fraud, the court said.
Evergrande Group was fined 8.82bn yuan (around £900 million) and Evergrande Real Estate Group was fined 7bn yuan (about £700m), the court said in a statement.
Mr Hui pleaded guilty in April to various charges including illegal absorption of public deposits, fraud and bribery.
