From China's richest man to life in prison: Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan sentenced for financial crimes

Hui Ka Yan, the founder of China’s biggest property developer Evergrande, has been sentenced to life in prison after he pleaded guilty to eight fraud-related charges.

Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court in southern China ruled that the property tycoon was found guilty of large-scale financial fraud and concealing liabilities. He pleaded guilty to following charges:

• Misuse of funds / Embezzlement of corporate assets (disguised as dividends)
• Fundraising fraud
• Illegally taking public deposits / Illegal absorption of public deposits
• Illegally extending loans / Illegal lending
• Fraudulently issuing securities
• Corporate bribery / Bribery to gain control of financial institutions
• False disclosures / Falsifying records
• Large-scale financial fraud (inflating assets and concealing liabilities

The 67-year-old former richest man of the country had all his property confiscated and his company was fined around 8.8 billion yuan. Evergrande Real Estate Group was fined about 7 billion yuan.

The investigation against him was started after Evergrande defaulted under a debt crisis after the Chinese government announced regulations limiting the amount of debts a company could hold.

In simple terms, he fabricated the company's success to secure more loans. He showed that his business empire earned $80 billion more than it actually did.

He was accused of severely disrupting the order of socialist market economy. In addition to him, more than 50 individuals linked to his crimes were given prison sentences, ranging from 18 months to 18 years.