Evergrande Founder Jailed for Life Amidst Property Collapse

Hui Ka Yan, the once-Asia's richest man and founder of the property giant Evergrande, has been sentenced to life imprisonment. A Shenzhen court found him guilty of multiple crimes, including bribery, fraud, and embezzlement, ordering the seizure of his personal assets. Evergrande was fined nearly £1.73 billion for falsifying records and hiding debt between 2016 and 2021.

More than 50 individuals connected to the firm, including Hui's sons, also received sentences. The collapse of Evergrande, which once boasted a stock market valuation over £37 billion and developments in 280 cities, has been significantly blamed for a severe slump in China's housing market, impacting other property companies.

Hui, who founded Evergrande in 1996, had been under surveillance since 2023 and was banned from China's capital markets for life in 2024. The scandal has also affected Evergrande's auditor, PwC, which faces negligence claims and regulatory fines.