A SHENZHEN court Thursday sentenced Xu Jiayin, former boss of Evergrande Group, to life in prison after convicting him of multiple crimes.

The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court found Evergrande Group and Xu guilty of illegally absorbing public deposits, fundraising fraud, illegally issuing loans, fraudulent issuance of securities, unlawful disclosure of important information, and corporate bribery.

The court also convicted Xu of illegally using funds and embezzlement, and Evergrande Real Estate Group of fraudulent issuance of securities.

According to the court, Xu was the actual controller of Evergrande Group, with overall responsibility for its operations. He managed and controlled Evergrande Real Estate Group and several other companies, with investments spanning real estate, property management, finance and other sectors.

The criminal acts of Xu and the two companies seriously disrupted the market economy, infringed upon public and private property rights, and undermined the integrity of public officials in the performance of their duties, the court said.

All his personal assets were ordered to be confiscated. Evergrande Group was fined 8.82 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion), and Evergrande Real Estate Group was fined 7 billion yuan. (Xinhua)