Chinese state media CCTV reported on Thursday noon that Xu Jiayin, former head of Evergrande Group, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a court of first instance. The footage showed the once-top Chinese tycoon standing in court, listening to the verdict, his hair completely white.
Xu Jiayin, a prominent Chinese real estate tycoon and former head of Evergrande Group, was sentenced to life imprisonment and had all his personal assets confiscated by a first-instance court on Thursday (20th) for involvement in multiple cases. His two sons were also sentenced to prison terms for their involvement in cases such as illegally absorbing public deposits.
Chinese state media CCTV reported on Thursday noon that the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province publicly pronounced sentences that morning in several criminal cases involving Xu Jiayin and others. The footage showed the once-top Chinese tycoon, with a full head of white hair, standing in court listening to the verdict.
Xu Jiayin's cases involve Evergrande Group and Evergrande Real Estate Group. A CCTV report, citing the judgment, stated that Xu Jiayin is the actual controller of Evergrande Group. Between 2016 and 2021, Xu Jiayin and these companies violated the law by continuously and extensively fabricating financial statements to inflate assets and conceal liabilities, committing crimes such as illegally absorbing public deposits, fundraising fraud, fraudulent issuance of securities, and illegal disclosure of important information.
The judgment also found that Evergrande Group and Xu Jiayin obtained control of financial institutions through bribery and other means, illegally obtained credit funds, and then used insurance funds for Evergrande Group's purposes, committing crimes such as corporate bribery, illegal loan issuance, and illegal use of funds. Xu Jiayin also used his position as chairman of Evergrande Real Estate to organize financial fraud and embezzle company assets under the guise of dividends.
Based on the aforementioned offenses, the court held that the actions of Evergrande Group and Xu Jiayin constituted the crimes of illegally absorbing public deposits, fundraising fraud, illegally issuing loans, fraudulently issuing securities, illegally disclosing important information, and corporate bribery; Xu Jiayin's actions also constituted the crimes of illegally using funds and embezzlement; and the actions of the defendant company, Evergrande Real Estate, constituted the crime of fraudulently issuing securities.
The court imposed a fine of RMB 8.82 billion on Evergrande Group for multiple crimes; a fine of RMB 7 billion on Evergrande Real Estate; and a life sentence, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal property on Xu Jiayin for multiple crimes. The court also ordered the continued recovery of illegal gains, with any shortfall to be repaid.
The report also pointed out that the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court and the Shenzhen Nanshan District People's Court sentenced Xu Jiayin's son Xu Tenghe, along with 56 others including Xu Zhijian, Du Liang, and Liang Dong, to prison terms ranging from 18 years to 1 year and 10 months, and imposed fines or confiscation of property; the illegal gains will continue to be pursued, and any shortfall will be ordered to be repaid.
