Ex-wife of Evergrande’s Xu Jiayin, Ding Yumei, Faces Global Debt Collection, Trends on Social Media.

On March 1st, a piece of news involving Ding Yumei, the former wife of Xu Jiayin, seeking court guidance on asset disclosure has sparked attention. “Ding Yumei pursued globally for debts” has become a hot search topic.

According to the report by the Hong Kong-based newspaper, on February 28th, Ding Yumei, the ex-wife of Xu Jiayin, founder of the Evergrande Group, requested the Hong Kong High Court to clarify the obligations imposed on her by the injunction.

Ding Yumei’s lawyer stated that she had received over three hundred letters from liquidators requesting more information about her assets. Her legal representative in the courtroom mentioned that she is seeking guidance from the court on the “specific details” she must disclose.

In July 2024, courts in Hong Kong and London issued a global asset freeze order against Ding Yumei to recover around $6 billion in bonuses and remuneration for Xu Jiayin, Ding Yumei, and former senior executives of Evergrande.

The liquidators’ representative argued that Ding Yumei only disclosed partial details of her global assets, excluding all assets derived from the bonuses distributed by Evergrande.

Charles Manzoni, the legal representative of Evergrande’s liquidators, stated in court, “Her disclosure is incomplete, Ding Yumei has provided disparate information.” He also added that the liquidators have a “serious lack of trust” in Ding Yumei’s actions.

The representative of the liquidators further claimed that Ding Yumei asserted that her ex-husband Xu Jiayin still owes her 33 billion Hong Kong dollars, while her son owes her 1 billion Hong Kong dollars.

In September 2023, Xu Jiayin was subjected to coercive measures on suspicion of illegal activities. A source informed the Daily Economic News that prior to Xu Jiayin’s coercive measures, his second son, Xu Tenghe, had already been taken away, while his wife Ding Yumei was abroad.

It was reported that Xu Tenghe had been deeply involved in the affairs of the Evergrande Group in recent years, holding managerial positions. He served as the Chairman of Pearl River Delta Companies within the Evergrande Group for many years and was also responsible for crucial tasks at Evergrande Wealth.

Before the incident, Xu Jiayin and Ding Yumei had undergone a “technical divorce.” She had been assisting relevant institutions in Hong Kong with the debt restructuring matters of the Evergrande Group.

Public records show that Ding Yumei was born in January 1957. Ding Yumei has two sons with Xu Jiayin; the elder son is Xu Zhijian, and the second son is Xu Tenghe.

According to Phoenix Financial, from 2009 to June 2021, the accumulated net profit of the Evergrande Group was 173.388 billion yuan, with the company distributing substantial dividends almost every year, totaling close to 70 billion yuan.

Behind the lavish dividends lies an implicit rule. Looking at the shareholding proportions, most of the dividends were pocketed by Xu Jiayin and his significant shareholders. This amount reaches nearly 54 billion yuan. Starting from 2011, Xu Jiayin cashed out 49.981 billion through dividends.

On January 29, 2024, the Hong Kong High Court formally issued a winding-up order for the Evergrande Group. Subsequently, liquidators will take over the assets of the Evergrande Group and initiate a series of asset recovery actions. After the winding-up order is issued, the liquidators of the Evergrande Group will begin a series of legal procedures.

In May 2024, the Securities and Futures Commission made an administrative penalty decision on Evergrande Real Estate for fraudulent bond issuance and violations of information disclosure, ordering Evergrande Real Estate to correct its actions, issuing a warning, and imposing a fine of 4.175 billion yuan. Xu Jiayin, the former Chairman and actual controller of Evergrande Real Estate, was fined the maximum of 47 million yuan and subjected to a lifetime ban from entering the securities market.

In February 2024, Ding Yumei filed an appeal with the Hong Kong High Court to recover over 1 billion Hong Kong dollars equivalent from Xu Tenghe, Xu Jiayin’s second son.

In July 2024, courts in Hong Kong and London issued a global asset freeze order against Ding Yumei to recover approximately $6 billion in bonuses and remuneration for Xu Jiayin, Ding Yumei, and former senior executives of Evergrande.

In September 2024, following being sued by Evergrande’s liquidators in China, a UK court froze Ding Yumei’s assets, allowing her to withdraw a maximum of £20,000 per month as living expenses. Court documents showed that Ding Yumei was allowed to pay her monthly living expenses and paid legal fees of up to £350,000 in August.

Additionally, Ding Yumei was reported to own multiple properties worldwide worth $285 million, spread across Canada, the UK, among others, including one of the most expensive mansions in London.

Aside from Ding Yumei’s assets, in September 2024, the Hong Kong High Court held a hearing regarding debt disputes involving Xu Jiayin. The court approved the sale of Xu Jiayin’s Shun Heung Wing property in Hong Kong, known as Xu Jiayin’s “foundational house,” to partially repay debts.

In December 2024, Alvarez & Marsal had taken over an offshore entity company holding Xu Jiayin’s private jet and put the jet up for sale. The aircraft, a 14-year-old Airbus A319, is equivalent in size to a commercial plane.