Chinese police detain some Evergrande Wealth Management employees

BEIJING, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Police in southern China have detained some employees at China Evergrande Group’s wealth management unit, signaling a new investigation that could add to the real estate giant’s woes.

“Recently, public security organs took mandatory criminal measures against Du and other suspected criminals in Evergrande Financial Wealth Management Co.,” Shenzhen city police said in a statement on social media on Saturday evening.

During protests by disgruntled investors at Evergrande’s headquarters in Shenzhen in 2021, Du Liang was identified by employees as the general manager and legal representative of Evergrande’s wealth management division.

Reuters was unable to confirm that Doe was among those arrested, and the police statement did not specify the number of detainees, the charges, or the date of their detention.

China Evergrande did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday outside normal business hours.

Police said the investigation into the financial management unit was continuing and urged investors to report any further financial crimes.

China Evergrande (3333.HK), the world’s most indebted real estate company, is at the heart of the crisis in China’s real estate sector, which has seen a series of debt defaults since late 2021 affecting the growth of the world’s second-largest company. Economy.

The group, which is currently undergoing a lengthy debt restructuring process that has seen it offload a range of assets, said on Friday it had postponed a decision on external debt restructuring from September to next month.

Trading in Evergrande shares has been suspended for 17 months until August 28.

Moody’s on Thursday lowered its outlook for China’s real estate sector from stable to negative, citing economic challenges that it said would dampen sales despite government support.

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