Founder of collapsed Chinese property giant Evergrande sentenced to life in prison

The founder of Evergrande, the property giant at the centre of China’s housing market slump, has been sentenced to life in prison and had all of his personal property confiscated.

Hui Ka Yan pleaded guilty in April to several charges, including embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery.

Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court also fined his former companies a total of 15.82bn yuan (£1.73bn; $2.35bn) over multiple crimes, including falsifying records and concealing debt.

Hui’s sentencing marks a key moment in the fallout from Evergrande’s collapse, which shook China’s property sector and hit investors and domestic banks hard.

Hui and his businesses “seriously disrupted” the Chinese property market, resulting in significant economic losses, the court said.

Other Evergrande executives, including Hui’s two sons Xu Zhijian and Xu Tenghe, were also sentenced to jail terms ranging from 22 months to 18 years, according to state media.

Once ranked Asia’s richest man, Hui has seen his wealth and influence dwindle as his company unravelled.

Hui, also known as Xu Jiayin, rose from humble beginnings in rural China, where he was raised by his grandmother before venturing into property development and setting up Evergrande in 1996.

He oversaw the company’s rapid rise through an aggressive expansion programme funded with large amounts of borrowed money.

Evergrande became China’s biggest real estate developer, with a stock market valuation of more than $50bn (£36.7bn). Hui was once estimated to be Asia’s richest person.