The company logo is seen at the headquarters of China Evergrande Group in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China on September 26, 2021. Reuters/Eli Song/File Photo Get licensing rights
BEIJING, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Police in southern China have detained some employees of China Evergrande Group’s wealth management unit, revealing a new investigation that could deepen the property giant’s troubles.
“Recently, public security organs took criminal mandatory measures against Du and other suspected criminals at Evergrande Financial Wealth Management Company,” Shenzhen city police said in a social media statement Saturday night.
During the 2021 protests by dissident investors at Evergrande’s Shenzhen headquarters, Du Liang was identified by employees as the general manager and legal representative of Evergrande’s wealth management division.
Reuters could not confirm whether Du was among those detained, and the police statement did not mention the number of detainees, charges, or date of detention.
China Evergrande did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours on Sunday.
Police said the investigation into the financial management unit was ongoing and investors were urged to report any other financial crimes.
China Evergrande (3333.HK), the world’s most indebted property developer, is at the center of a crisis in China’s property sector, which has seen a series of loan defaults since late 2021 that slowed the growth of the world’s second-largest Is. economy.
The group, which is currently undergoing a lengthy debt restructuring that has seen it sell off several assets, said on Friday it has delayed a decision on offshore debt restructuring from September to next month.
Trading in Evergrande’s stock was suspended for 17 months until August 28.
Moody’s on Thursday downgraded China’s property sector outlook to negative from stable, citing economic challenges, saying sales will decline despite government support.
Reporting by Laurie Chen and David Kirton in Shenzhen; Editing by Tom Hogg
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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