Evergrande Tycoon Crossed a Red Line When Wealth Funds Ran Dry
- Police are fielding complaints by wealth product investors
- China authorities have less tolerance for losses by households
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China Evergrande Group wiped out international investors, roiled financial markets and left thousands of suppliers in the lurch. Yet it was the developer’s failure to pay households who invested in its wealth management products that may have provided the last straw for Chinese authorities.
Almost two years after Evergrande defaulted on its debt, its billionaire founder and chairman, Hui Ka Yan, is under police control on suspicion of committing unspecified crimes. Staff at the group’s wealth management business have been detained. Hui’s son Peter Xu, who once ran the firm’s wealth unit, was also taken into custody, local media reported.