Evergrande’s Founder Sentenced to Life, Companies Fined Billions

A worker was seen collecting trash in a partially closed Evergrande commercial complex on the day the Hong Kong Stock Exchange delisted Evergrande, a major Chinese property developer, in Beijing on August 25, 2025.

Chinese property tycoon Hui Ka Yan, the founder of Evergrande, received a life sentence from a court in Shenzhen for his role in a significant financial fraud. The companies faced total fines amounting to $2.3 billion.

This judgment represents a significant point in Evergrande’s challenges, which began with over $300 billion in liabilities after Chinese authorities targeted excessive borrowing in the real estate sector in 2020. This crackdown led to a financial strain on several developers and has been affecting the broader economy ever since.

The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court found Hui, also known as Xu Jiayin, and Evergrande guilty of large-scale financial fraud. They enhanced the group’s asset value and hid its liabilities. Hui exploited his position to orchestrate such fraud and misappropriated company resources.

The court also imposed prison sentences of up to 18 years on several top executives of Evergrande. They were charged with illegal public deposit-taking and fraud. Evergrande Group received a fine of 8.82 billion yuan (approximately $1.31 billion), and Evergrande Real Estate Group faced a fine of 7 billion yuan (about $1.04 billion).

In April, Hui admitted to charges such as illegal public deposit absorption, fraud, and bribery after being arrested in China.

Founded in 1996, China Evergrande defaulted on its obligations in 2021. Before being ordered to liquidate, it was the world’s most indebted property developer. Investigations in Hong Kong and mainland China revealed Evergrande had altered its financial statements. This included counting revenue from property sales before completing and handing over apartments to buyers.

Authorities stated that between 2019 and 2020, Evergrande overstated its revenues by about $80 billion.