Was Hui Ka Yan’s Family Trust “Pierced”? Here’s What the Hong Kong Court Said

Recently, reports about Hui Ka Yan’s overseas family trust being “pierced” have attracted widespread attention. Topics such as “Hui Ka Yan’s family trust defense line breached” and “Hui Ka Yan’s $2.3 billion can no longer be hidden” once trended on Weibo.

These reports primarily stem from a ruling issued by the Hong Kong High Court on September 16. However, the actual content of the judgment is far less “informative” than the online discussions suggest, and it is premature to conclude that Hui Ka Yan’s overseas family trust has been “pierced” based solely on this ruling.

The court documents indicate that the judgment was made in response to an application submitted by Evergrande Group to the Hong Kong court on April 3, 2025. The application sought to appoint the group’s liquidators as receivers and managers of all of Hui Ka Yan’s assets and businesses. The court ruled in favor of Evergrande Group and issued the “Receivership Order.”

The scope of the receivership does not explicitly mention Hui Ka Yan’s so-called overseas family trust. References to the trust mainly appear in the judge’s citations of past case precedents and legal bases. However, many legal experts believe that the frequent public discussions about offshore family trusts being “pierced” involve misconceptions that need to be clarified, particularly drawing the attention of high-net-worth individuals.