(Oct 9): A former friend of China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan has entered a messy legal fight with the company’s liquidators over billions of Hong Kong dollars he says he lent to Hui over a decade.

Hong Kong property tycoon Cheung Chung Kiu on Thursday filed a lawsuit in Hong Kong’s high court demanding repayment of HK$10.1 billion (US$1.3 billion or RM5.3 billion), citing verbal agreements Hui made between 2010 and 2020. The lawsuit comes days after Evergrande’s liquidators sued Cheung for about HK$18.7 billion based on transactions they found that appeared to capture funds Hui had transferred to Cheung between 2014 and 2020.

The two lawsuits offer fresh insight into the dealings of Hui’s network of billionaire friends that helped keep his business afloat. Cheung and Hui were known members of an elite poker group called the Big-Two Club and the two worked on several business deals together before Evergrande’s property empire collapsed and Hui was eventually sentenced to life in prison.

Evergrande’s liquidators are continuing to widen the net as they work to recoup cash for creditors, in this case turning to a former ally who may have received some of the company’s money. In 2024, they successfully froze the assets of Hui’s ex-wife and other former Evergrande executives.

In his suit, Cheung claims that he lent a total of HK$29 billion to Hui, of which about HK$18.7 billion was repaid in a series of transactions. Hui confirmed in writing that he still owed Cheung HK$10.1 billion as of Nov 15, 2022, according to the court filing.

Representatives for CC Land Holdings Ltd, where Cheung serves as chairman, and Evergrande’s liquidators didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Uploaded by Magessan Varatharaja