China’s Evergrande founder jailed for life amid property crisis

Hui Ka Yan, the founder of the now-collapsed Chinese property giant Evergrande, has been sentenced to life in prison by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court on Thursday. The court also ordered the confiscation of all his personal property. This verdict marks a significant development in China's ongoing property crisis, which saw Evergrande, once the world's most indebted developer, face liquidation after accumulating over $300 billion in liabilities.

Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, pleaded guilty in April to a range of charges, including large-scale fraud, illegal absorption of public deposits, fundraising fraud, and corporate bribery. The court stated that the amount involved in the crimes was "exceptionally large," leading to "exceptionally heavy economic losses" and "grave harm to society."

In addition to Hui's life sentence, the court imposed substantial fines on Evergrande Group, totaling 8.82 billion yuan ($1.31 billion), and its main subsidiary, Hengda Real Estate, which was fined 7 billion yuan ($1.04 billion). Several other senior executives also received prison terms and fines in connection with the widespread financial misconduct.