Evergrande Founder Hui Ka Yan Loses Bid To Use Recovered Assets For Legal Fees

China Evergrande founder Hui Ka Yan's legal team has had its Hong Kong High Court application to use his receivership assets to pay about HK$1.2 million in legal fees rejected on September 2, according to ETNet. The court said the team failed to show that the seized assets were the only possible source of payment. Justice H. Au-Yeung also rejected the argument that Hui could not communicate with his lawyers or discuss his assets, and noted earlier questions over whether his family might cover the costs. The receivers argued they could not seek instructions from Hui because of those restrictions. The ruling is a setback for Hui's legal team, especially after a mainland court ordered the confiscation of his assets last month. Evergrande's liquidators disclosed last year that the group had total debt of about $45 billion and were pursuing about $7.7 billion of Hui's global assets to recover funds. Hong Kong's High Court appointed Evergrande's liquidators last year as receivers over Hui's assets to identify, preserve and safeguard them.