Archive · 20 Aug 2026
Evergrande Founder Sentenced to Life Amid China’s Property Crisis
Evergrande was once one of China’s biggest property companies.
Its founder was Hui Ka Yan, whose Mandarin name is Xu Jiayin.
The company borrowed heavily while building and selling homes.
China later limited excessive borrowing, and Evergrande struggled to repay its creditors.
It defaulted on its debts in 2021 and had more than $300 billion in liabilities.
A court said Hui and Evergrande used false financial information and hid debts.
Hui was sentenced to life in prison, and his personal property was confiscated.
The company and another Evergrande business were also fined billions of yuan.
Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, was sentenced to life in prison by a Shenzhen court.
The court convicted Hui and Evergrande of large-scale financial fraud involving inflated assets and concealed liabilities between 2016 and 2021.
Evergrande defaulted in 2021 after accumulating liabilities estimated at more than $300 billion.
Evergrande and Hengda Real Estate were fined a combined 15.82 billion yuan, or about $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion.
Five senior executives received prison terms of six to 18 years; Xinhua reported that 56 people, including Hui’s two sons, were sentenced overall.
- Who
- Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin; Evergrande Group; Hengda Real Estate; and other senior executives.
- What
- A Shenzhen court sentenced Hui to life in prison for multiple financial offenses and fined Evergrande and Hengda Real Estate.
- When
- The sentence was announced Thursday, Aug. 20; Hui had pleaded guilty in April, and Evergrande defaulted in 2021.
- Where
- The case was heard by the Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China.
- Why
- The court said Hui and Evergrande inflated assets, concealed liabilities and committed other offenses, including fraud, misuse of funds, illegal fundraising or acceptance of public deposits, and bribery.
- Founder
- Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin
- Sentence
- Life imprisonment, lifetime revocation of political rights and confiscation of Hui’s personal property
- Corporate fines
- Evergrande was fined 8.82 billion yuan and Hengda Real Estate was fined 7 billion yuan
- Combined fine
- 15.82 billion yuan, reported as approximately $2.3 billion to $2.4 billion
- Debt crisis
- Evergrande defaulted in 2021 after accumulating more than $300 billion in liabilities
- Other sentences
- Five senior executives received prison terms ranging from six to 18 years
- Reported total convictions
- Xinhua reported that 56 people, including Hui’s two sons, received jail sentences
Sources
Once Asia’s richest man, Evergrande founder gets life sentence in China: Who is he?
China Evergrande Founder Jailed For Life For Fraud, Firm Fined $2 Billion
Chinese court sentences founder of troubled property developer Evergrande to life in prison
