China Evergrande saga ends with life sentence for founder Hui Ka-yan
China Evergrande founder Hui Ka-yan has been sentenced to life imprisonment for large-scale financial fraud and embezzlement. The court also imposed massive fines on the company and its subsidiaries, marking a definitive end to the developer's high-leverage business model.
Why it matters
This sentencing serves as a major milestone in the collapse of China's property sector and the government's crackdown on corporate financial misconduct.
A court in Shenzhen has sentenced China Evergrande Group founder and former chairman Hui Ka-yan to life imprisonment for “multiple combined crimes”, confiscating all of Hui’s personal property.
Meanwhile, Evergrande was fined 8.82 billion yuan (US$1.31 billion), while its onshore operating unit Hengda Real Estate was fined 7 billion yuan – some of the biggest corporate fines ever levied by a Chinese court in a criminal case.
The 67-year-old Hui, also known as Xu Jiayin, was also deprived of political rights for life. He pleaded guilty to charges including embezzlement of corporate assets and corporate bribery in April.
According to the court, the illegal gains of the defendants shall be further recovered, and where recovery is insufficient, restitution shall be ordered.
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