The founder of China Evergrande, the most indebted real estate developer in the world, is under investigation for "illegal crimes," which presents a new obstacle for the tycoon and his troubled business as it tries to survive.
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping assumed office in 2012, Hui Ka Yan, 64, the founder of Evergrande in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, has come under fire.
The list of additional prominent Chinese executives who have been under investigation or arrested under Xi's direction is shown below.
The former chip group chairman was accused of crimes including as corruption and making unauthorised gains for his associates and family in March.
Originating as a branch of China's prestigious Tsinghua University, state-backed Tsinghua Unigroup emerged in the previous decade as a would-be domestic champion for China’s laggard chip industry.
But the company racked up debt under Zhao. It spent billions on chip-related acquisitions but also unrelated, unprofitable businesses ranging from real estate to online gambling that eventually led it to default on bond payments in late 2020 and face bankruptcy.
BAO FAN, FOUNDER OF CHINESE RENAISSANCE
China Renaissance Holdings' founder was jailed in February, and the investment bank announced in August that he was cooperating with investigators.
What the probe was about was a mystery. One of China's most well-connected bankers, Bao formerly worked at Credit Suisse Group and Morgan Stanley and was involved in significant technology mergers like the union of ride-hailing companies Didi and Kuaidi and food delivery juggernauts Meituan and Dianping.
His whereabouts remain a mystery.
THE FOUNDER OF TOMORROW HOLDINGS - XIAO JIANHUA
Since 2017, Xiao has not been spotted in public. A Shanghai court penalised his Tomorrow conglomerate 55.03 billion yuan ($8.1 billion) and sentenced him to 13 years in prison in 2022.
A source close to the Chinese-Canadian tycoon told Reuters at the time that the billionaire, who is believed to have connections to China's Communist Party elite, was taken from an opulent Hong Kong hotel in the early hours of the morning with his head covered.
Xiao and Tomorrow donated shares, real estate, cash, and other assets to government officials totaling more than 680 million yuan for two decades from 2001 to 2021, according to the Shanghai court at sentence, in an effort to escape financial oversight and seek out improper benefits.
CHEN FENG, CHAIRMAN, AND TAN XIANGDONG, CEO, HNA GROUP
When HNA Group, formerly one of China's most avaricious overseas buyers, was placed under bankruptcy administration in 2021, Chen and Tan of HNA Group were arrested by Chinese police on suspicion of criminal charges.
The HNA Group, whose flagship company is Hainan Airlines (600221.SS), leveraged a $50 billion global acquisition drive, largely fueled by debt, to create an empire in the 2010s that included holdings in companies like Hilton Worldwide and Deutsche Bank.
WU XIAOHUI, CHAIRMAN OF ANBANG INSURANCE GROUP
In the beginning of 2018, Wu was charged with economic crimes after China's insurance regulators discovered that Anbang, a conglomerate that combines insurance and real estate, had broken rules and laws that "may seriously endanger the solvency of the company."
The gang was also taken over by the prosecution.
Wu was detained in June 2017 as Beijing pushed down on financial risk and launched a campaign to limit big-spending businesses. In May 2018, he received an 18-year prison term for fraud and theft.
YE JIANMING, FOUNDER OF CEFC CHINA ENERGY
A nearly $9.1 billion stake in Rosneft, a large Russian oil company, was to be purchased by Ye's CEFC in 2017. He was under investigation for possible economic crimes a year later, and in March 2018 he vanished from view. Reuters was informed at the time by a source with knowledge of the situation that he had been detained for interrogation.
In a stunning fall from glory for the businessman who placed second on Fortune magazine's "40 Under 40" list of the world's most influential young people in 2016, his corporation has now been dissolved beneath a pile of debt.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
Since Chinese President Xi Jinping assumed office in 2012, Hui Ka Yan, 64, the founder of Evergrande in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, has come under fire.
The list of additional prominent Chinese executives who have been under investigation or arrested under Xi's direction is shown below.
The former chip group chairman was accused of crimes including as corruption and making unauthorised gains for his associates and family in March.
Originating as a branch of China's prestigious Tsinghua University, state-backed Tsinghua Unigroup emerged in the previous decade as a would-be domestic champion for China’s laggard chip industry.
But the company racked up debt under Zhao. It spent billions on chip-related acquisitions but also unrelated, unprofitable businesses ranging from real estate to online gambling that eventually led it to default on bond payments in late 2020 and face bankruptcy.
BAO FAN, FOUNDER OF CHINESE RENAISSANCE
China Renaissance Holdings' founder was jailed in February, and the investment bank announced in August that he was cooperating with investigators.
What the probe was about was a mystery. One of China's most well-connected bankers, Bao formerly worked at Credit Suisse Group and Morgan Stanley and was involved in significant technology mergers like the union of ride-hailing companies Didi and Kuaidi and food delivery juggernauts Meituan and Dianping.
His whereabouts remain a mystery.
THE FOUNDER OF TOMORROW HOLDINGS - XIAO JIANHUA
Since 2017, Xiao has not been spotted in public. A Shanghai court penalised his Tomorrow conglomerate 55.03 billion yuan ($8.1 billion) and sentenced him to 13 years in prison in 2022.
A source close to the Chinese-Canadian tycoon told Reuters at the time that the billionaire, who is believed to have connections to China's Communist Party elite, was taken from an opulent Hong Kong hotel in the early hours of the morning with his head covered.
Xiao and Tomorrow donated shares, real estate, cash, and other assets to government officials totaling more than 680 million yuan for two decades from 2001 to 2021, according to the Shanghai court at sentence, in an effort to escape financial oversight and seek out improper benefits.
CHEN FENG, CHAIRMAN, AND TAN XIANGDONG, CEO, HNA GROUP
When HNA Group, formerly one of China's most avaricious overseas buyers, was placed under bankruptcy administration in 2021, Chen and Tan of HNA Group were arrested by Chinese police on suspicion of criminal charges.
The HNA Group, whose flagship company is Hainan Airlines (600221.SS), leveraged a $50 billion global acquisition drive, largely fueled by debt, to create an empire in the 2010s that included holdings in companies like Hilton Worldwide and Deutsche Bank.
WU XIAOHUI, CHAIRMAN OF ANBANG INSURANCE GROUP
In the beginning of 2018, Wu was charged with economic crimes after China's insurance regulators discovered that Anbang, a conglomerate that combines insurance and real estate, had broken rules and laws that "may seriously endanger the solvency of the company."
The gang was also taken over by the prosecution.
Wu was detained in June 2017 as Beijing pushed down on financial risk and launched a campaign to limit big-spending businesses. In May 2018, he received an 18-year prison term for fraud and theft.
YE JIANMING, FOUNDER OF CEFC CHINA ENERGY
A nearly $9.1 billion stake in Rosneft, a large Russian oil company, was to be purchased by Ye's CEFC in 2017. He was under investigation for possible economic crimes a year later, and in March 2018 he vanished from view. Reuters was informed at the time by a source with knowledge of the situation that he had been detained for interrogation.
In a stunning fall from glory for the businessman who placed second on Fortune magazine's "40 Under 40" list of the world's most influential young people in 2016, his corporation has now been dissolved beneath a pile of debt.
(Source:www.reuters.com)
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