Evergrande Founder Hui Ka Yan Sentenced to Life in Prison by Shenzhen Court

A court in Shenzhen has sentenced Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan to life imprisonment and ordered the confiscation of all his personal assets after convicting him of multiple financial crimes, including fundraising fraud, fraudulent securities issuance, and occupational embezzlement. The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court also fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan and Hengda Real Estate 7.0 billion yuan, while handing prison sentences ranging from nearly two to 18 years to 56 other affiliated executives and personnel.

The first-instance ruling in the Evergrande case marks a pivotal milestone in China's legal resolution of real estate sector risks. Hui's life sentence and the heavy corporate fines represent unprecedented penalties against a private property developer in China, establishing an unyielding regulatory precedent against balance-sheet fabrication and unregulated shadow financing.

A court in southern China has sentenced Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan to life imprisonment and ordered the confiscation of all his personal assets, according to court rulings reported by Chinese state media and financial outlets. On the morning of August 20, 2026, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court announced its first-instance verdict in the criminal cases involving Evergrande Group, its core unit Hengda Real Estate Group, and Hui. The court sentenced Hui to life imprisonment, deprived him of political rights for life, and ordered the confiscation of all his personal property. Illegal gains are to be recovered, with shortfalls subject to mandatory restitution. The court also levied substantial corporate penalties, fining Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan ($1.22 billion) and Hengda Real Estate 7.0 billion yuan ($970 million). According to findings established during the trial, Hui served as the actual controller of Evergrande Group, exercising overall operational control across Hengda Real Estate, Evergrande Wealth, Evergrande Nanchang, and other entities spanning property development, asset management, and financial services. Between 2016 and 2021, the defendants engaged in continuous, systemic accounting fraud, inflating corporate assets and concealing liabilities in violation of national laws. These practices facilitated multiple offenses, including the illegal absorption of public deposits, fundraising fraud, fraudulent securities issuance, and unlawful disclosure of material information. The court also found that Evergrande Group and Hui used bribery to secure control over financial institutions, improperly diverting credit and insurance funds for group use under counts of entity bribery, unlawful loan issuance, and illegal fund utilization. Hui was additionally convicted of occupational embezzlement for orchestrating accounting fraud to misappropriate corporate funds disguised as dividend distributions. Under statutory rules, the court emphasized that compensation and restitution to victims take priority over the collection of judicial fines and asset confiscation. On the same day, Shenzhen courts also sentenced 56 other executives and related personnel—including Zhen Litao, Ke Peng, Peter Xu Tenghe, and Xu Zhijian—to prison terms ranging from 18 years to one year and ten months for their roles in fundraising fraud, illegal deposit absorption, and fund misuse.