China: Evergrande founder sentenced to life in prison

A Shenzhen court has sentenced billionaire Xu Jiayin, the founder of the real estate giant China Evergrande Group, to life imprisonment for financial crimes. The ruling comes as the company and its subsidiaries face massive fines totaling approximately 2 billion euros, highlighting the severity of the crisis gripping China's property market.

Evergrande Group was fined 8.82 billion yuan (1.12 billion euros), and its subsidiary Evergrande Real Estate received a fine of 7 billion yuan (890 million euros). Xu Jiayin was convicted of multiple charges, including embezzlement, fraud in fundraising, and misuse of public deposits. In addition to his life sentence, he faces a lifetime ban on exercising his civil rights and the confiscation of all his personal assets, according to a court announcement on WeChat.

Five other senior executives were also handed prison sentences ranging from six to 18 years, along with fines. Evergrande, once China's largest developer, filed for bankruptcy in 2021, burdened by $300 billion in debt. Its struggles have become emblematic of the prolonged real estate downturn affecting the world's second-largest economy.

The conviction of Xu Jiayin concludes a dramatic rise-from-poverty-to-riches story. However, Reuters notes that it is unlikely to bring comfort to Evergrande's domestic and international creditors, who are still grappling with the fallout of the company's collapse.

“

The Evergrande Group was fined 8.82 billion yuan (1.12 billion euros); Evergrande Real Estate was fined 7 billion yuan (890 million euros); Xu Jiayin was convicted of crimes with a fine and a life sentence, with a lifetime ban on his civil rights and confiscation of all his personal property.