Former Evergrande chairman sentenced to life in prison

Xu Jiayin, former chairman of Chinese property developer Evergrande Group, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday for a string of financial and corporate crimes, while the group and its property arm were fined a combined total of 15.82 billion yuan ($2.35 billion), according to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong province.

The court imposed fines totaling 8.82 billion yuan on Evergrande Group for multiple offenses, and another 7 billion yuan on Evergrande Real Estate Group, which was convicted of fraudulent securities issuance.

Xu was deprived of his political rights for life and had all his personal property confiscated. The court also ordered the continued recovery of his illegal gains and restitution for any remaining shortfall.

According to the court, Xu was the actual controller of Evergrande Group, with overall responsibility for its operations.

Between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate Group and Xu engaged in sustained and large-scale financial fraud, including inflating assets and concealing liabilities, according to the court's findings.

The court also found that Evergrande Group and Xu had used bribery to gain control of financial institutions and illegally obtained credit and insurance funds for the group's use. Their conduct constituted crimes, including corporate bribery, the illegal issuance of loans and the illegal use of funds.

Xu also took advantage of his position as chairman of Evergrande Real Estate Group to organize financial fraud and misappropriated company property under the guise of dividends, the court said.

The court ruled that Evergrande Group and Xu were guilty of illegally absorbing public deposits, fundraising fraud, illegally granting loans, fraudulently issuing securities, illegally disclosing important information, and committing corporate bribery. Xu was also convicted of illegal use of funds and occupational embezzlement.

The court said that the crimes had seriously disrupted the socialist market economic order, infringed upon public and private property rights and undermined the integrity of public officials. It described the sums of money involved as exceptionally large, the circumstances as particularly serious, and the resulting economic losses and social harm as severe.

The sentences were handed down based on the facts, nature and circumstances of the crimes and their impact on society, the court said.

It added that compensation for victims' losses takes priority over the enforcement of fines and confiscation of property.

On Thursday, the court and a local district court also handed down sentences in related cases involving other Evergrande personnel. The courts sentenced 56 individuals to imprisonment ranging from 22 months to 18 years. They were also fined or had their property confiscated, while illegal gains will continue to be recovered.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn