Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan sentenced to life in prison

Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan received a life sentence on Thursday, with all his personal assets seized, according to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court. He had pleaded guilty in April to fraud, corporate bribery, and illegally accessing public deposits. Evergrande, a once-prominent Chinese property developer, defaulted on a massive $300 billion debt and billions in wealth management payments in 2021.

The court found Hui guilty of widespread financial fraud and using bribes to gain control of financial institutions. In addition to Hui's sentence, the court fined Evergrande $1.31 billion and its subsidiary 7 billion yuan, along with prison terms of six to 18 years for five other executives. The court emphasized the severe economic losses and social harm caused by Evergrande's actions, which seriously disrupted China's economic order.