Hong Kong Media: China Evergrande's Hui Ka Yan Case Involves Multiple High-Ranking Officials
The trial of Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan began in Shenzhen, revealing 2.4 trillion RMB in debt and a vast corruption network implicating numerous government officials and financial executives.
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- 📰 Published: April 20, 2026 at 10:42
- 🔍 Collected: April 20, 2026 at 11:00 (18 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 20, 2026 at 11:31 (31 min after Collected)
The Evergrande case went to trial in Shenzhen last week. Hui Ka Yan was charged with eight offenses, including fraudulent fundraising, and pleaded guilty in court.
According to a report by Ming Pao today, after Evergrande and Hui Ka Yan collapsed, they left behind 2.4 trillion RMB (about 11 trillion TWD) in debt, marking what is arguably the world's largest real estate debt crisis.
Analysis suggests that Evergrande's massive debt flowed into several main directions. The first was astronomical dividends. In the decade or so following Evergrande's public listing, Hui Ka Yan and his family extracted over 50 billion RMB through dividends and payouts, and preemptively set up a 2.3 billion USD offshore family trust in the United States through shell companies.
Second was the failure of blind diversified investments. Evergrande Auto alone absorbed over 40 billion RMB without producing a single vehicle. In addition, Evergrande Spring lost 4 billion RMB, and the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club accumulated losses exceeding 7 billion RMB.
The third direction for the debt was high-interest financing, with interest payments alone eating up 500 billion RMB.
Fourth was extravagant luxury. The family purchased luxury homes, private jets, and top-tier cars globally, with just three villas in Hong Kong valued at over 2 billion RMB.
According to reports, Evergrande invested about 12 billion USD (mostly borrowed) years ago in Danzhou, Hainan, to develop Ocean Flower Island, touted as the world's largest artificial island, which ultimately ended as an unfinished project. Zhang Qi, the Danzhou Party Secretary who improperly approved the island's construction back then (and later promoted to Hainan Provincial Committee member and Haikou Party Secretary), was sentenced to life in prison for corruption in 2020.
Former Guizhou Provincial Party Secretary Sun Zhigang, a fellow Henan native and Wuhan Institute of Iron and Steel alumnus of Hui Ka Yan, is also involved.
In 2015, after Sun took charge of Guizhou, Evergrande rapidly promoted a "one-on-one assistance" project there, investing over 7.5 billion RMB and aggressively acquiring land for development in Guiyang. Sun was later sentenced to death with a reprieve for accepting over 800 million RMB in bribes, with charges including "providing assistance for real estate development."
Additionally, former Minister of Justice Tang Yijun was sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes exceeding 100 million RMB. Reportedly, during Tang's two-and-a-half-year tenure as Governor of Liaoning, Evergrande invested in real estate projects there, and Hui Ka Yan also acquired a controlling stake in Shengjing Bank. Due to a lack of oversight, Shengjing Bank "transfused" over 100 billion RMB to Evergrande, leaving behind massive bad debts.
Also implicated in the Evergrande case is former Shenzhen Mayor Chen Rugui, who rose from Guangzhou's urban construction system and was an old acquaintance of Hui Ka Yan. When Chen became Shenzhen Mayor in 2017, Evergrande relocated its headquarters from Guangzhou to Shenzhen and received multiple policy supports.
Former Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, Gou Zhongwen, who received a suspended death sentence, is also tied to the Evergrande case. During his tenure, he pushed the "Evergrande National Team" model, facilitating the transfer of multiple national players to the Evergrande Football Club.
Furthermore, a large number of executives from the mainland's financial system have been swept up in the Evergrande case, including former CITIC Bank President Sun Deshun, former China Merchants Bank President Tian Huiyu, former Bank of China President Liu Liange, and former Everbright Bank Chairman Li Xiaopeng, all suspected of greenlighting massive loans for Evergrande. (Editor: Zhang Shuling) 1150420
According to a report by Ming Pao today, after Evergrande and Hui Ka Yan collapsed, they left behind 2.4 trillion RMB (about 11 trillion TWD) in debt, marking what is arguably the world's largest real estate debt crisis.
Analysis suggests that Evergrande's massive debt flowed into several main directions. The first was astronomical dividends. In the decade or so following Evergrande's public listing, Hui Ka Yan and his family extracted over 50 billion RMB through dividends and payouts, and preemptively set up a 2.3 billion USD offshore family trust in the United States through shell companies.
Second was the failure of blind diversified investments. Evergrande Auto alone absorbed over 40 billion RMB without producing a single vehicle. In addition, Evergrande Spring lost 4 billion RMB, and the Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club accumulated losses exceeding 7 billion RMB.
The third direction for the debt was high-interest financing, with interest payments alone eating up 500 billion RMB.
Fourth was extravagant luxury. The family purchased luxury homes, private jets, and top-tier cars globally, with just three villas in Hong Kong valued at over 2 billion RMB.
According to reports, Evergrande invested about 12 billion USD (mostly borrowed) years ago in Danzhou, Hainan, to develop Ocean Flower Island, touted as the world's largest artificial island, which ultimately ended as an unfinished project. Zhang Qi, the Danzhou Party Secretary who improperly approved the island's construction back then (and later promoted to Hainan Provincial Committee member and Haikou Party Secretary), was sentenced to life in prison for corruption in 2020.
Former Guizhou Provincial Party Secretary Sun Zhigang, a fellow Henan native and Wuhan Institute of Iron and Steel alumnus of Hui Ka Yan, is also involved.
In 2015, after Sun took charge of Guizhou, Evergrande rapidly promoted a "one-on-one assistance" project there, investing over 7.5 billion RMB and aggressively acquiring land for development in Guiyang. Sun was later sentenced to death with a reprieve for accepting over 800 million RMB in bribes, with charges including "providing assistance for real estate development."
Additionally, former Minister of Justice Tang Yijun was sentenced to life in prison for accepting bribes exceeding 100 million RMB. Reportedly, during Tang's two-and-a-half-year tenure as Governor of Liaoning, Evergrande invested in real estate projects there, and Hui Ka Yan also acquired a controlling stake in Shengjing Bank. Due to a lack of oversight, Shengjing Bank "transfused" over 100 billion RMB to Evergrande, leaving behind massive bad debts.
Also implicated in the Evergrande case is former Shenzhen Mayor Chen Rugui, who rose from Guangzhou's urban construction system and was an old acquaintance of Hui Ka Yan. When Chen became Shenzhen Mayor in 2017, Evergrande relocated its headquarters from Guangzhou to Shenzhen and received multiple policy supports.
Former Director of the General Administration of Sport of China, Gou Zhongwen, who received a suspended death sentence, is also tied to the Evergrande case. During his tenure, he pushed the "Evergrande National Team" model, facilitating the transfer of multiple national players to the Evergrande Football Club.
Furthermore, a large number of executives from the mainland's financial system have been swept up in the Evergrande case, including former CITIC Bank President Sun Deshun, former China Merchants Bank President Tian Huiyu, former Bank of China President Liu Liange, and former Everbright Bank Chairman Li Xiaopeng, all suspected of greenlighting massive loans for Evergrande. (Editor: Zhang Shuling) 1150420