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

The founder of the Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, has been sentenced to life in prison — a move that marks the downfall of the career of someone who was one of the greatest symbols of the Chinese real estate bubble. A court in China handed down the sentence after he pleaded guilty in April to charges including fundraising fraud and bribery.

According to the official news agency Xinhua, Hui's assets will be confiscated. At the same time, 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. According to the court, both companies inflated assets and concealed liabilities "continuously and on a large scale."

In the case, sentences were handed down to 56 other defendants, including two of Hui's sons. The sentences range from 22 months to 18 years in prison.

"The amount involved in the crimes was particularly large, the circumstances of the case are particularly serious, extremely heavy economic losses were caused, and the damage to society is extremely severe," the report stated.

Hui, who was once the second-richest person in Asia, built an empire that included real estate, electric vehicles, and other businesses. However, the crisis in the Chinese real estate market caused the group to collapse. In 2024, a court in Hong Kong ordered its liquidation after it failed to reach a settlement with its creditors. The collapse of Evergrande has become one of the most prominent symbols of the crisis in the Chinese real estate sector, which continues to weigh on the country's economy.