Evergrande’s Founder "Hui Ka Yan" Put under Police Control

Police in China have placed billionaire Hui Ka Yan, chairman of crisis-hit real estate developer China Evergrande Group, under surveillance, according to Bloomberg.

People familiar with the matter explained to Bloomberg that Chinese police took Hui away earlier this month and placed him under surveillance in a designated place.

The procedure means that he is unable to leave the place or meet or communicate with others without obtaining prior approval, according to China's Criminal Procedure Law. He must hand over his passport and identity card to the police. However, the duration of this process must not exceed 6 months, according to the law.

This measure represents the latest sign that the long story of the world's most indebted real estate development company has entered a new phase in which the criminal justice system is involved, after authorities earlier this month detained some employees in Evergrande's wealth management unit, as reported. 

This exacerbates the doubts surrounding the fate of Evergrande after the failures of the restructuring plan in recent days, which rocked the financial markets and raised risks about the liquidation of the company’s assets to pay off debts.

For Hui, who controlled one of the world's largest fortunes when Evergrande's shares peaked in 2017, the development represents another blow to his prestige. The businessman was once considered among the most politically connected in China, with ambitions ranging from electric cars to soccer, and is now the most famous victim of tough regulatory crackdown on excessive debt and speculation in the real estate sector.