Founder of China's Evergrande pleads guilty to fraud

Hui Ka Yan, the founder of Evergrande, has pleaded guilty to a number of charges, including embezzlement of assets and corporate bribery, according to a statement issued by the court. Hui expressed remorse during the public hearing on 13 and 14 April in Shenzhen, according to Chinese state media.

Evergrande was once China's biggest real estate firm, with a stock market valuation of more than $50bn (£37bn), but collapsed into a debt-driven crisis in 2021 that has unravelled its business. The court heard that the company had taken millions of dollars in pre-sale funding from potential house buyers that were not used for construction. Hui was fined $6.5m in March 2024 and banned from China's capital market for life for his company overstating its revenue by $78bn. Evergrande's shares were delisted from the Hong Kong exchange in August 2025, after more than a decade and a half of trading.

The court said it will announce its verdict on the case at a later date.