China: The founder of the real estate giant Evergrande, Xu Jiayin, sentenced to life in prison for fraud.

The Chinese justice system sentenced Evergrande founder, Xu Jiayin, to life imprisonment on Thursday for "large-scale financial fraud" in the context of the real estate crisis affecting the Chinese economy. In addition to the prison sentence, the founder was deprived of civil rights for life, and his personal assets were confiscated.

Evergrande, once the largest real estate developer in China, was fined a total of 15.82 billion yuan (approximately 2 billion euros), of which 8.82 billion yuan was for the main group and 7 billion yuan for its real estate subsidiary. The court emphasized that between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande and Xu Jiayin committed financial fraud and manipulated assets and liabilities.

Five other officials of the group received prison sentences ranging from 6 to 18 years for various offenses.