China jails Evergrande founder for life, fines firm more than US$2 billion

A Chinese court sentenced the founder of property company Evergrande to life in prison and imposed a fine exceeding US$2 billion on Thursday (August 20). Evergrande, once a prominent figure in China's real estate sector, defaulted on loans in 2021 after the government tightened lending regulations. The firm's founder, Hui Ka Yan (also known as Xu Jiayin), received a life sentence for large-scale financial fraud and other offenses.

The court also confiscated all of his personal property and revoked his political rights for life. Evergrande and its real estate arm were fined a total of 15.82 billion yuan (approximately US$2.4 billion) for engaging in fraudulent activities to inflate assets and conceal liabilities between 2016 and 2021.