New court records are raising questions over the whereabouts of billions once controlled by Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin, whose sprawling property empire collapsed under the weight of massive debt. According to judicial documents cited by Chinese media, Xu held approximately HK$88.3 billion (about USD$11.3 billion) in assets during divorce proceedings in 2021. Yet receivers appointed to manage his property have so far identified only HK$64 million, a tiny fraction of that amount.
The discrepancy does not mean Xu’s remaining wealth has disappeared entirely. Rather, the Hong Kong court noted that he has failed to provide the asset disclosures required under a worldwide freezing order, while leaving a substantial portion of his fortune unexplained.
Xu is currently serving a life sentence for his role in Evergrande’s financial misconduct, including fraudulent bond issuance and the falsification of financial information as the property giant accumulated hundreds of billions of dollars in liabilities. He was sentenced on Aug. 20, 2026 at a Shenzhen court.
RELATED: The Collapse of Evergrande: A Symbol of China’s Deepening Property Crisis, Flailing Economy
A collapse that shook China’s property sector
Evergrande’s collapse was years in the making. Once hailed as one of China’s largest property developers, the company expanded aggressively through borrowing before Beijing tightened restrictions on debt-fueled growth in the real-estate sector.
For the best of our weekly content！
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Check your email to complete sign up
A severe cash crunch followed, and Evergrande defaulted on its offshore debt in late 2021 with more than USD$300 billion in liabilities. After more than two years of failed restructuring talks with creditors, the Hong Kong High Court ordered the company into liquidation in January 2024.
The company’s downfall became one of the most visible symbols of China’s wider property crisis, which has weighed on developers, homebuyers, creditors, and the broader economy. Regulators later found that Evergrande’s flagship unit had overstated revenue by 564 billion yuan across 2019 and 2020, adding another layer of scrutiny to how the company operated during its rapid expansion.
Billions still unaccounted for
Between the 2017 and 2020 fiscal years, Xu reportedly received roughly HK$33.5 billion in dividends through Evergrande-related companies. Of the HK$64 million in assets currently identified by receivers, around HK$21 million consisted of legal fees Xu had deposited with a law firm and which were later transferred to the receivers. The composition of the remaining HK$43 million has not been publicly disclosed.
The Hong Kong High Court ordered Evergrande into liquidation in January 2024. Several months later, liquidators began pursuing approximately US$6 billion from Xu and other former senior executives, including former chief executive Xia Haijun. Xu’s former wife, Ding Yumei, was also named in the proceedings. In June 2024, the court issued a worldwide freezing order to prevent Xu from disposing of assets worth up to USD$7.7 billion.
Receivers were appointed in September 2025, and Evergrande’s liquidators have since launched legal actions in multiple jurisdictions seeking to locate and recover property linked to Xu and others. The total amount recovered remains unclear.
A life of extraordinary luxury
The renewed attention on Xu’s wealth has also revived scrutiny of his lavish lifestyle at Evergrande’s peak. Japanese journalist Kaori Fukushima, a former China correspondent for Sankei Shimbun, said Xu owned three private aircraft, including an Airbus jet, along with a roughly 60-meter luxury yacht and high-end properties in Los Angeles, London, and Hong Kong.
She also reported that Xu maintained a private farm in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture to grow premium melons and spent heavily on high-end Cuban cigars and other opulent items.
Other reports circulated after Xu’s detention described highly specific hotel preferences for Xu and his sons, ranging from exact room temperatures and humidity levels to premium bottled water, customized smoking accessories, and daily linen changes.
Political connections under scrutiny
Xu’s rise has also drawn attention to the extensive political relationships that accompanied Evergrande’s expansion. Chinese and overseas media have linked several former senior officials to Xu’s broader business and political network, including former Guizhou Party Secretary Sun Zhigang, former Justice Minister Tang Yijun, and former Shenzhen Mayor Chen Rugui. All three were later convicted on corruption charges, though their court judgments do not necessarily establish that their offenses were directly connected to Xu or Evergrande.
The relationships have fueled scrutiny over how Evergrande was able to expand so rapidly while accumulating enormous amounts of debt. Chinese reporting on Xu’s case has described overlapping ties between the developer, senior government officials, and figures in the financial system as investigators examine the political networks surrounding the company’s rise and collapse.
Xu has consequently been described by critics as a political “white glove,” a term commonly used in Chinese political discourse for businessmen who handle money or assets on behalf of powerful officials. Fukushima argued that Beijing’s prosecution of property magnates such as Xu also serves a political purpose, allowing authorities to shift responsibility for failures in the property sector while using high-profile prosecutions as a warning to others.
Original article
Comments