Law & Justice
Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin jailed for life in China
Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin has been sentenced to life in prison by a Shenzhen court, which also fined Evergrande Group and its real estate arm a total of 15.82 billion yuan, or $2.4 billion, for offences including fraud.
The Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province said Thursday that Xu, also known as Hui Ka Yan, was sentenced for multiple crimes including “large-scale financial fraud”. It said his political rights were revoked for life and all his personal property was confiscated.
The court said Evergrande and Xu violated national laws between 2016 and 2021 by using fraud and other means to inflate assets and conceal liabilities. It also said they gained control of financial institutions through bribery, without naming the institutions.
Xu pleaded guilty in April to charges that also included embezzlement and bribery, the court said.
Five other senior Evergrande executives were sentenced Thursday to prison terms ranging from six to 18 years. China's state news agency Xinhua reported that 56 people in total were given jail sentences, including Xu's two sons. The court also ordered that remaining shortfalls from illegal gains be returned.
Evergrande was once one of China's leading property developers, but defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors. A Hong Kong court ordered its liquidation in 2024, and its shares were delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in August 2025.
The collapse has become a symbol of a wider downturn in China's property sector. New-home prices in China have been contracting for three years, and observers have been watching problems at other developers including Country Garden and Vanke.
Alicia Garcia-Herrero, Asia-Pacific chief economist at Natixis, told AFP that Evergrande “helped make the problem more structural” and “showed the weakness of the system”.
Dan Wang, a director on Eurasia Group's China team, told AFP that Thursday's rulings were a “decisive signal” that Beijing had not changed course and “won't bail out the property sector”. She said they were a signal to companies to “be debt-conscious”.
Update
China's state news agency Xinhua reported that the 56 people sentenced included Xu Jiayin's two sons.
The Shenzhen court ordered that remaining shortfalls from illegal gains be returned.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 07:06:53 UTC.
Update
Analysts linked the Evergrande ruling to China's broader property slump and said it signalled Beijing would not bail out the sector.
Alicia Garcia-Herrero of Natixis said Evergrande helped make China's property problem more structural and showed weakness in the system.
Dan Wang of Eurasia Group said the rulings signal that companies must be debt-conscious.
China is targeting GDP growth of 4.5 to 5.0 percent this year, described in the source item as its lowest official goal in decades.
Government data cited in the item showed July retail sales declining compared with last year and real estate development investment down by nearly one fifth year-on-year through the end of July.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 06:56:11 UTC.
Update
China's state news agency Xinhua reported that 56 people in total were given jail sentences, with the shortest term one year and 10 months.
The court ordered that remaining shortfalls from illegal gains be returned.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 06:26:28 UTC.
Update
The court said Evergrande and Xu Jiayin inflated assets and concealed liabilities between 2016 and 2021.
The court said the parties gained control of financial institutions through bribery, without naming the institutions.
Xu pleaded guilty in April to charges including embezzlement and bribery, according to the court.
Five other senior Evergrande executives were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to 18 years.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 05:09:16 UTC.
Update
Evergrande Real Estate was fined 7 billion yuan.
The court said Xu Jiayin was sentenced for multiple crimes and fined.
The court said Xu had his political rights revoked for life and all his personal property confiscated.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 04:33:43 UTC.
Update
A Chinese court fined Evergrande Group 8.82 billion yuan, or $1.3 billion.
Source note: AFP news report published on 20 August 2026 at 04:16:09 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The court said financial institutions were gained through bribery but did not name them.
Source
AFP news report published on .