Shenzhen, China — WartaGlobal.Id

Wealth is apparently no ticket out of the reach of the law.

Xu Jiayin—also known as Hui Ka Yan, the founder and former controller of Chinese property giant Evergrande—once stood among Asia’s wealthiest individuals. His fortune reportedly reached around US$45.3 billion in 2017.

But on August 20, 2026, a court in Shenzhen sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The first-instance verdict went beyond imprisonment. The court also stripped Xu of his political rights for life and ordered the confiscation of his personal assets. The proceeds of his crimes are to be recovered, while any outstanding amounts must be repaid.

MORE THAN ONE OFFENSE

The Shenzhen court found that between 2016 and 2021, Evergrande, Evergrande Real Estate and Xu Jiayin were involved in large-scale financial crimes, including falsifying financial information by inflating assets and concealing liabilities.

The case involved a range of offenses, including illegal public fundraising, fundraising fraud, fraudulent issuance of securities, illegal disclosure of material information, misappropriation of funds, bribery, and violations related to lending activities.

The company that once symbolized the boom of China’s property sector was also punished.

Evergrande Group was fined 8.82 billion yuan, while Evergrande Real Estate was fined 7 billion yuan.

The combined fines amounted to 15.82 billion yuan, or approximately US$2.35 billion.

The case did not end with Xu Jiayin.

A total of 56 people connected to Evergrande were also sentenced in related proceedings, with prison terms ranging from approximately two years to 18 years.

WEALTH MUST NEVER BECOME IMMUNITY

Evergrande had once been one of the most powerful symbols of China’s property boom.

But the company eventually collapsed under liabilities exceeding US$300 billion, sending shockwaves through China’s property sector and financial markets.

That is where the Xu Jiayin case carries a significance far greater than the downfall of one billionaire.

The rule of law is not tested when it confronts ordinary people. It is tested when it confronts those who possess money, networks, power and access.

A state governed by law must not recognize social or economic castes.

A poor businessman and a billionaire must face the same legal standards. A junior official and a senior official must be held accountable under the same principles.

WHAT ABOUT INDONESIA?

A comparison with Indonesia must, of course, be made carefully. China and Indonesia have different legal systems, political structures, institutions and judicial mechanisms.

Yet the Evergrande case raises a question that remains highly relevant to Indonesia:

Can wealth and proximity to power ever make someone feel too powerful to be touched by the law?

That question matters because fighting corruption is not merely about arresting perpetrators.

It is about ensuring that money, political office, connections and social status cannot purchase impunity.

Anti-corruption laws lose their meaning if they are only sharp against those without access, but become blunt when confronting people with enormous wealth and political connections.

Therefore, the success of a state governed by law should not be measured simply by how many ordinary people are imprisoned.

The more important question is:

Does the law dare to confront those who are the richest, the most powerful and the most well-connected?

Xu Jiayin is now an example that being a billionaire does not automatically provide a shield against the law.

The Evergrande case carries one simple message:

Wealth may reach the heavens. Power may seem limitless. But when the law is genuinely enforced, no human being should stand above it.

Because independence without the supremacy of law is merely a slogan.

And a nation is never truly free if corruption can still buy immunity.

FREEDOM does not mean freedom from the law.
FREEDOM means that no one is above the law.