Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan sentenced to life in prison

The founder of China Evergrande Group, Hui Ka Yan, was sentenced to life in prison by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court on Thursday.

Hui pleaded guilty in April to eight charges, including embezzlement of assets, fundraising fraud, illegally taking public deposits, illegally extending loans, fraudulently issuing securities and bribery. The court ordered the confiscation of all his personal property.

Evergrande was fined 8.82 billion yuan and its main subsidiary Hengda 7 billion yuan, a total of 15.82 billion yuan. Five other senior executives received prison terms ranging from six to 18 years.

The court said Hui and his businesses seriously disrupted the Chinese property market and caused significant economic losses and social harm.

Evergrande, once China's largest developer and the world's most indebted, defaulted on most of its more than $300 billion in liabilities. The collapse shook the property sector and hit investors and domestic banks. Hui was once ranked Asia's richest man.

His two sons, Xu Zhijian and Xu Tenghe, were among those sentenced. Comments from Evergrande homeowners on social media reflected frustration over unfinished apartments and lost payments.

The sentencing marks a key moment in the fallout from the company's collapse five years after it began to unravel, symbolising the broader crisis that has weighed on China's economy.