Xu Jiayin's ex-wife Ding Yumei has new news!
On the latest news on the 17th, Ding Yumei, the ex-wife of China Evergrande founder Xu Jiayin, owns multiple properties worldwide worth $285 million (approximately RMB 2 billion). Her properties are located in Canada, the UK, and other places, including one of the most expensive mansions in London.
As Hong Kong liquidators search for Evergrande related assets worldwide, Ding Yumei's property may be taken over or auctioned off to repay creditors.
In July, courts in Hong Kong and London issued a global asset freeze order against Ding Yumei to recover approximately $6 billion in dividends and remuneration from Xu Jiayin, Ding Yumei, and former executives of Evergrande.
In September, after Ding Yumei's assets were frozen in a lawsuit, the British court recently allowed her to spend up to £ 20000 (approximately $26187) per month as living expenses. Ding Yumei has over $4 million in savings in her bank account in the UK and currently resides in a luxury apartment in London, which is part of the Thames City project developed by Zhongyu Land Holdings Limited.
The lawsuit involves Evergrande's liquidator seeking to recover approximately HKD 2.8 billion received by Ding Yumei through two wholly-owned companies in the form of dividends between 2018 and 2020.
According to previous announcements, the Chinese Evergrande Group has applied for multiple injunctions in the lawsuit, restricting Xu Jiayin, Ding Yumei, and Xia Haijun from disposing, selling, or reducing the value of their global assets beyond the prescribed limits. The injunction was first issued in Hong Kong on June 24th against Xu Jiayin and Xia Haijun, and gradually developed to include Ding Yumei.
In September 2023, Xu Jiayin was subjected to compulsory measures in accordance with the law on suspicion of illegal activities.
In May 2024, the China Securities Regulatory Commission made an administrative penalty decision on the illegal issuance and information disclosure of Evergrande Real Estate bonds in accordance with the law. Evergrande Real Estate was ordered to rectify, given a warning, and fined 4.175 billion yuan. The then chairman and actual controller of Evergrande Real Estate, Xu Jiayin, was fined 47 million yuan and banned from the securities market for life.
And Ding Yumei is already the ex-wife of Xu Jiayin. In an announcement released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in August 2023, she was referred to as a "third party independent of the company and its affiliates" rather than a "spouse", implying that she had divorced Xu Jiayin after more than 30 years of marriage.
According to previous market analysis, prior to the incident, Xu Jiayin and Ding Yumei had a "technical divorce", which allowed Ding Yumei to use this opportunity to split their finances from Xu Jiayin and avoid debt.
In February of this year, Ding Yumei filed an appeal in the Hong Kong High Court to recover over HKD 1 billion from Xu Tenghe, the second son of Xu Jiayin.