From China's Richest to Life Imprisonment! Xie Jia Yin Heavily Sentenced, All Assets Seized Evergrande's 2.2 Trillion Empire Collapse

Xie Jia Yin, the founder of Evergrande Group, a once-dominant Chinese real estate giant, was sentenced to life imprisonment in a public trial by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court on the 20th. The court found Xie guilty of multiple serious crimes, including continuous and large-scale financial fraud, asset inflation, debt concealment, illegal absorption of public deposits, fund-raising fraud, securities issuance fraud, and improper disclosure of important information. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, deprivation of political rights for life, and confiscation of all personal assets. Evergrande Group and Evergrande Real Estate were fined 8.82 billion yuan and 7 billion yuan, respectively.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency, Xie Jia Yin, as the actual controller of Evergrande Group, fully controlled Evergrande Group, Evergrande Real Estate, and multiple affiliated companies from 2016 to 2021. He was found to have engaged in continuous and large-scale financial fraud, inflating assets and concealing liabilities, and was involved in crimes such as illegal absorption of public deposits, fund-raising fraud, securities issuance fraud, and improper disclosure of important information.

The court pointed out that Evergrande Group and Xie Jia Yin also engaged in bribery to control financial institutions, illegally obtaining credit and insurance funds. Xie Jia Yin himself was found to have organized financial fraud using his position and embezzled company assets under the guise of dividends, escalating the Evergrande crisis from a simple corporate debt explosion to a major criminal case involving finance, securities, and corruption.

In September 2021, the financial crisis of Evergrande Group, a Chinese real estate giant, fully erupted (AP).

Fraud, scams, and bribes all came to light at once in the explosive collapse of Evergrande. Behind the collapse lay a major financial case.

The court pointed out that Xie Jia Yin was the actual controller of Evergrande Group, fully responsible for the group's operations, and managed and controlled multiple companies including Evergrande Real Estate, Evergrande Wealth, and Evergrande Nanchang. His business empire spanned real estate, property management, and finance.

The court found that Evergrande Group and Xie Jia Yin were involved in crimes such as illegal absorption of public deposits, fund-raising fraud, illegal lending, securities issuance fraud, improper disclosure of important information, and unit bribery. Xie Jia Yin was also found to have engaged in illegal use of funds and embezzlement, while Evergrande Real Estate was found guilty of securities issuance fraud.

The court described the relevant crimes as having "especially large amounts" and "especially heinous circumstances," not only disrupting market economic order but also causing significant economic losses. Therefore, the court imposed severe punishment in accordance with the law. Notably, the court also explicitly pointed out that subsequent asset disposal would prioritize compensating victims' losses before executing fines and confiscating assets.

Evergrande Group Chairman Xie Jia Yin (AP).

56 Evergrande senior executives and family members sentenced 2.2 trillion real estate empire officially liquidated

On the same day, the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court and the Nanshan District People's Court also sentenced other Evergrande defendants, including Zhen Litao, Ke Peng, and Xie Jia Yin's eldest son Xie Zhijian and second son Xie Tenghe, to prison terms ranging from 18 years to 1 year and 10 months, and imposed fines or confiscated assets. Illegally obtained gains will continue to be recovered.

Evergrande Group was once one of the most representative companies in China's high-speed growth era of real estate. At the time of its listing at the end of 2009, its total assets were only 63.07 billion yuan. By 2013, its contract sales exceeded 100 billion yuan, and its asset scale had rapidly expanded to 348.1 billion yuan. "High leverage, high turnover" became the core model of its rapid expansion.

In 2016, Evergrande entered the Forbes Global 500 for the first time. In 2019, its contract sales surged to 601 billion yuan, and its asset scale exceeded 2.2 trillion yuan. Xie Jia Yin also topped China's rich list in 2017 with assets of 290 billion yuan. From China's richest to life imprisonment, Evergrande's story is no longer just about the bursting of a real estate bubble, but about a commercial empire built on high leverage, fraud, and capital expansion, finally facing judicial liquidation.