Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan sentenced to life in prison

Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court sentenced Hui Ka Yan, founder of China's Evergrande Group, to life in prison on Thursday after he pleaded guilty in April to embezzlement and corporate bribery. The court confiscated all of Hui's personal assets and fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan, with its real estate unit ordered to pay a further 7 billion yuan.

Hui built Evergrande into China's largest property developer through aggressive debt-funded expansion before Beijing's 2020 leverage restrictions exposed the company's position. The firm collapsed in 2021 after channelling pre-sale funds from homebuyers into new developments rather than completing purchased properties, leaving hundreds of projects unfinished. Evergrande's stock market valuation fell by 99 percent before its shares were removed from the Hong Kong exchange in August 2025.

The sentencing closes the personal legal chapter for Hui but leaves the broader consequence intact: Evergrande's implosion accelerated a property sector contraction that continues to weigh on China's economy, and no court ruling changes the outstanding inventory of unfinished homes or the domestic banks still carrying related exposure.