Life Sentence to Evergrande Founder Hui Ka Yan

Hui Ka Yan, the founder of Evergrande, one of the symbol companies of China's debt crisis, was sentenced to life imprisonment for various crimes, including fraud and bribery. It was decided to confiscate all personal assets of Hui, who was once the richest person in Asia.

The court in Shenzhen, China, announced its decision against 67-year-old Hui Ka Yan, the founder of China Evergrande Group, one of the most indebted real estate companies in the world.

Hui pleaded guilty in April to 8 charges, including misappropriation of funds, illegal deposit collection, financial fraud, improper lending, securities issuance fraud and bribery.

Evergrande, once one of China's largest real estate developers, was unable to pay most of its approximately $300 billion liabilities.

While the financial crisis experienced by the company has become one of the most important symbols of the long-standing problems in the real estate sector in China, it has also created serious pressure on the country's economy and financial markets.

The court stated that the crimes committed by Evergrande, its main subsidiary Hengda Real Estate and Hui Ka Yan caused "huge amounts of economic loss and serious social harm" and that they should be severely punished.

ALL ASSETS WILL BE CONSIZED

The court sentenced Hui Ka Yan to life imprisonment as well as the confiscation of all his personal assets.

Evergrande was fined 8.82 billion yuan, and the company's main subsidiary Hengda was fined 7 billion yuan.

Five former senior executives of the company were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 to 18 years. According to Chinese state television CCTV, a criminal decision was made against a total of 56 people affiliated with Evergrande, apart from Hui.

Hui Ka Yan, who grew up in a rural village in China's Henan province and started his working life in the steel industry, founded Evergrande in 1996.

Hui rapidly expanded the company with an aggressive borrowing policy, making Evergrande one of China's largest real estate companies in terms of sales figures.

According to Forbes data, Hui's wealth reached 45.3 billion dollars in 2017 and he became the richest person in Asia.

LIQUIDATION PROCESS CONTINUES

Evergrande's failure to pay its debts led to losses for thousands of people who invested in the company's investment products and to protests in China.

A court in Hong Kong ordered Evergrande to be liquidated in 2024. The company was later delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The liquidation process is progressing very slowly. According to the information provided by the liquidators, assets worth approximately $255 million could be sold as of last August, while the total demands of creditors reach approximately $45 billion.

The liquidators are also continuing their legal efforts to freeze the assets of Hui Ka Yan and his ex-wife abroad. Authorities are trying to recover nearly $6 billion in dividends and other payments paid to Hui and some former executives in past years.