Evergrande Founder Pleads Guilty to Fraud Charges

Evergrande Founder Admits Guilt Amid Property Crisis

Hui Ka Yan, the founder of China's once-dominant property developer Evergrande, has pleaded guilty to charges of embezzlement of corporate assets and corporate bribery. The admission occurred during public hearings held on 13th and 14th April in Shenzhen, where Mr Hui expressed remorse, as reported by Chinese state media. The court has stated that its verdict will be announced at a subsequent date.

This guilty plea represents a pivotal moment in the ongoing fallout from Evergrande's dramatic collapse, which has sent shockwaves through China's property market and left a trail of financial instability for investors and domestic banks. Evergrande, once valued at over $50bn, spiralled into a profound debt crisis in 2021.

Evidence presented to the court revealed that the company diverted millions of pounds from pre-sale funding, intended for property construction, towards new projects. This diversion resulted in hundreds of unfinished properties across China.

Mr Hui, also known as Xu Jiayin, built Evergrande from scratch in 1996, rising from humble beginnings to become one of Asia's wealthiest individuals. However, the firm's rapid expansion, largely fuelled by approximately $300bn in borrowed money, proved unsustainable. Beijing's introduction of new regulations in 2020 to curb property debt exacerbated Evergrande's woes, forcing the company to sell assets at significant discounts.

Earlier this year, in March 2024, Mr Hui was fined $6.5m and received a lifetime ban from China's capital market for the company's significant overstatement of revenue by $78bn. The developer's shares were delisted from the Hong Kong exchange in August 2025 after its market valuation plummeted by 99%.