Evergrande Billionaire Founder Hui Ka Yan Pleads Guilty in Fraud Case

The guilty plea marks a dramatic turn in the downfall of a tycoon who once symbolised China’s property boom and subsequent debt-fuelled crash

China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan has pleaded guilty to a number of charges including fundraising fraud and bribery in a Chinese court, state news agency Xinhua reported on Monday, marking a major turn in the collapse of one of China’s most prominent property developers.

Hui Ka Yan, who rose from humble origins to turn Evergrande into a real estate giant before it collapsed as the world’s most indebted developer, had been accused of a range of offences including illegally absorbing public deposits and fundraising fraud, according to Xinhua.

His swift two-day trial came about three years after he was placed under police control on suspicion of criminal activity. The plea marks a key chapter in the aftermath of Evergrande’s collapse, which left international bond investors and Chinese banks facing billions of dollars in losses and raised questions over the health of China’s property sector.

Once Asia’s second-richest man, Hui is among a long list of billionaire tycoons caught in Beijing’s widening crackdown. His downfall, however, is among the most high-profile given Evergrande’s role in China’s property slump.

Evergrande, which had liabilities exceeding US$300 billion at its peak, has been widely seen as a trigger for a prolonged downturn in China’s property market, which began weakening in 2021.

Hui was accused of bribery, embezzlement, unlawfully issuing loans, fraudulent issuance of securities and illegal disclosure of material information, Xinhua said. Evergrande was also charged with fraudulent issuance of securities.

The company and Hui delivered their final statements, with Hui pleading guilty in court and expressing remorse, the report said.

Also known as Xu Jiayin in Mandarin, Hui was born in Henan province in 1958 and grew up in poverty. Encouraged by China’s economic reforms, he left a steel firm job in 1992 and entered property development in Guangzhou before founding Evergrande in 1996.

Evergrande expanded rapidly during China’s property boom, at one point building more than 1,300 projects across 280 cities and expanding into sectors including electric vehicles, bottled water and football.

The company later defaulted on its debt in 2021 after Beijing tightened borrowing rules for the property sector. It was ordered into liquidation in Hong Kong in 2024.

Chinese regulators have previously accused Evergrande’s main onshore unit of inflating more than 560 billion yuan in revenue through early recognition of sales, an alleged fraud that prompted fines and regulatory action against auditors and executives.

Hui has been banned for life from capital markets activity and fined 47 million yuan over separate violations.

His downfall adds to a list of high-profile Chinese corporate figures punished in recent years as regulators tightened oversight of major conglomerates.

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