Evergrande tycoon at the heart of China’s property crisis sentenced to life in prison | CNN Business

The founder of embattled property behemoth Evergrande and formerly one of China’s richest men was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, according to state media, the latest chapter of ignominy for a one-time symbol of the nation’s economic boom. Hui Ka Yan pled guilty in April to multiple charges related to his time as chairman of China’s largest real-estate developer, including fraud and misuse of funds. It completes a dramatic downfall for Hui – also known as Xu Jiayin – who emerged from humble origins during a turbulent political era, to climb to the highest levels of influence and wealth. Hui’s Evergrande Group has been hobbled by debt since 2021, with $300 billion in liabilities. Its crisis – along with those of other property giants – has been at the heart of a wider Chinese real-estate shock that has tested the world’s second-largest economy and threatened to spark a global contagion effect. As well as the life sentence, Hui was also ordered to forfeit his personal assets and was stripped of all political rights, China’s official Xinhua news agency reported, citing a verdict handed down by a court in the southern metropolis of Shenzhen. Evergrande Grou