“The founder of China's Evergrande Group, the most indebted property developer in the world, has pleaded guilty to charges including fraud and bribery, a Chinese court in the southern city of Shenzhen has said.”

“Founder Hui Ka Yan "pleaded guilty and expressed remorse" in trial proceedings against him and Evergrande on Monday and Tuesday, the court said in a posting on its official Wechat account.”

“The property developer giant defaulted in 2021 on most of its $300 billion (roughly €255 billion) in liabilities and billions of dollars of wealth management product payments.”

“Evergrande and its founder Hui are accused of "illegally absorbing public deposits, fundraising fraud, illegally issuing loans, illegally using funds, fraudulently issuing securities, disclosing important information in violation of regulations, embezzlement and [corporate] bribery," a court statement said.”

“Founded in the mid-1990s, Evergrande had over 90% of its assets on China's mainland, according to a 2024 ruling.”

“But 2020 government restrictions on excessive borrowing dramatically narrowed its access to credit, and it defaulted on its debts a year later.”

“Hui was reportedly held by police in 2023, with China's securities regulator fining him $6.6 million and barring him from the securities market for life in 2024.”