Who is Hui Ka Yan? China Evergrande founder sentenced to life in prison for orchestrating massive financial fraud

Hui Ka Yan, also known as Xu Jiayin, is the founder and former chairman of China Evergrande Group, once one of the country's biggest property developers. He built Evergrande into a real estate giant before its debt-fueled collapse triggered a wider crisis in China's property sector. On August 20, 2026, a Shenzhen court sentenced Hui to life in prison after finding him guilty of multiple financial crimes, including fundraising fraud, misuse of funds, bribery and fraudulent securities issuance. He had pleaded guilty earlier this year. The court also ordered his personal assets confiscated. Evergrande's collapse left the company with more than $300 billion in liabilities.

The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province delivered its first-instance verdict Thursday in the cases involving Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate Group and founder Hui Ka Yan. The court ordered the recovery of illegal gains and restitution for any outstanding amounts. Hui, 67, was also stripped of his political rights for life, while all of his personal property was confiscated. Evergrande Group was fined 8.82 billion yuan ($1.23 billion), while Evergrande Real Estate Group received a 7 billion yuan ($1.04 billion) fine.

Hui's rise began far from China's business elite. A former steel technician who was raised by his grandmother in a rural village in Henan province, he built his fortune by developing low-priced homes, reported news agency Reuters. Under his leadership, Evergrande expanded rapidly, borrowing heavily to acquire land and selling properties at lower margins to maintain fast turnover.


The strategy turned Evergrande into a property powerhouse, with annual sales reaching 700 billion yuan ($100 billion) by 2020. Hui's personal fortune peaked at an estimated $45.3 billion in 2017, making him Asia's richest person at the time, according to Forbes, as quoted by the news agency. By 2023, his estimated wealth had fallen to about $3 billion. The latest court ruling now includes the confiscation of his remaining personal assets.

According to Global Times, the Shenzhen court found that Hui Ka Yan was the actual controller of Evergrande Group and held overall responsibility for its operations. He also controlled several affiliated companies, including Evergrande Real Estate, Evergrande Wealth and Evergrande Nanchang, with businesses spanning property development, services and finance.

According to the court, between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate and Hui engaged in prolonged and large-scale financial fraud. Authorities said, as reported by the outlet, the companies inflated assets, concealed liabilities and committed multiple financial crimes, including fundraising fraud, fraudulent securities issuance and illegal disclosure of important information.

The court also found that Hui and Evergrande used bribery to gain control of financial institutions and illegally obtain credit and insurance funds. Hui was additionally convicted of misusing funds and occupational embezzlement after allegedly using his position to divert company assets through dividend payments. Evergrande entities were also found guilty of several financial offenses.