Evergrande Chairman banned from China's stock market for life
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The company's chairman is accused of orchestrating illicit activities that have contributed to Evergrande's staggering debt crisis.
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A man walks past a depiction of Evergrande properties across a China map at a partially shuttered Evergrande commercial complex in Beijing, Monday, Jan. 29, 2024 (AP)
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has announced a lifetime ban for Xu Jiayin, chairman of the embattled property giant Evergrande, from the securities market.
The ruling, disclosed by Evergrande's subsidiary Hengda Real Estate in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange on Monday, outlined severe penalties for Xu's involvement in financial fraud.
According to the filing, Xu is accused of orchestrating illicit activities that have contributed to Evergrande's staggering debt crisis, which has reverberated throughout China's property market and beyond.
Evergrande "received an advance notice from the CSRC of administrative penalties and market bans targeting... illegal and illicit behaviors", the Hengda filing read.
The company will "be ordered to make corrections and be issued with a warning as well as a fine of 4.175 billion yuan ($580 million)".
The ruling concluded that Xu "made decisions and organized the implementation of financial fraud, using particularly egregious means and under particularly serious circumstances", the notice further said, adding that Xu will also "be issued a warning and a fine of 47 million yuan".
The ruling concludes a tumultuous period for Evergrande, which has been grappling with a debt burden that has raised concerns both domestically and internationally.
In January, a Hong Kong court issued a winding-up order against the real estate company, although the company asserted that its operations within mainland China would remain unaffected by the decision.
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Unlike in the West, where white-collar crimes are often evaded with little to no risk, China has a very strict anti-corruption agenda in force.
In October 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that corruption within the CCP was a serious problem that needed to be addressed in order to maintain the party's vitality and fighting ability.
Xi noted that the CCP has zero tolerance for corruption and would punish it under the "zero tolerance" principle.
In July 2023, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the CCP said in an official report that in the first six months of 2023, more than 250,000 officials in China have been prosecuted for various crimes.
Discipline inspection and supervision authorities opened a total of 316,000 cases against officials, of which 258,000 were "held accountable."
Eighteen among them were provincial or ministry-level officials.
Moreover, 519,000 people were subjected to "criticism education," the report added.
