Hui Ka Yan, chairman of China Evergrande Group, delivers a keynote speech at the summit, Nov. 12.

2026-08-20T04:21:25Z

BEIJING (AP) — The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Hui Ka Yan, the founder of China’s Evergrande real estate group, to life in prison Thursday for large-scale fraud.

It also fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan ($1.31 billion) and Evergrande Real Estate 7 billion yuan ($1.04 billion), according to a statement issued by the court.

Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, pleaded guilty in April to a series of charges, including illegal absorption of public deposits, fraud and corporate bribery.

Evergrande was the world’s most heavily indebted real estate developer with more than $300 billion in liabilities before it was ordered to liquidate.

Its downfall, which came as Chinese government officials cracked down on excessive borrowing in 2020, tipped the entire Chinese real estate market into crisis.