STORY: The whereabouts of China Evergrande’s chairman has been publicly unknown for the last year.
Now two sources have exclusively told Reuters Hui Ka Yan has been moved to a special detention center in Shenzhen.
The 65-year-old has not been seen in public since he was taken away by Chinese authorities a year ago.
Evergrande was at the center of the country’s property sector crisis, and ordered into liquidation in January.
Chinese regulators found its key unit had inflated earnings and committed securities fraud.
Hui, who was once China’s richest man, was fined $6.6 million in March and banned from the securities market for life.
He is not known to have been formally charged with any crimes, and it is unclear how long he will remain in detention, or whether he will be tried or set free.
Chinese authorities have detained many former high-flying business executives.
Some have remained in detention for years with little or no information about their fate.
One source said Hui was initially under house surveillance in Beijing after his arrest.
Another source added he was transferred to Shenzhen a few months ago to allow him to more easily communicate with top Evergrande executives.
Chinese authorities did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Neither did Hengda Real Estate, Evergrande’s main unit.
The company has defaulted on most of its $300 billion liabilities since 2021.
Its problems have been emblematic of China’s property sector struggles that have dragged on economic growth.
