This handout photo released from the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court on August 20, 2026 shows Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin (C) during a trial in Shenzhen, southern China's Guangdong province.
China on Thursday sentenced the founder of embattled property giant Evergrande, Xu Jiayin, to life in prison, and fined the company and an affiliate more than US$2 billion after a high-profile default five years ago.
Evergrande Group was the face of Chinese real estate, surfing a decades-long property boom as it peddled home-ownership dreams, but its access to credit dramatically narrowed when the government introduced curbs on excessive borrowing and speculation.
The company defaulted in 2021 after struggling to repay creditors.
On Thursday, a court in south China fined the firm and its real estate arm a total of 15.82 billion yuan ($2.4 billion).
