Vanke’s Fallen Financial Architect: Former CEO Under Criminal Probe as China’s Property Giant Teeters
Vanke’s Fallen Financial Architect: Former CEO Under Criminal Probe as China’s Property Giant Teeters
SHENZHEN, China — For years, Zhu Jiusheng stood at the heart of China Vanke, the real estate titan once seen as untouchable. He crafted the company’s financial strategies, fueled its massive expansion, and helped turn it into a national symbol of success. That image shattered on Tuesday when Chinese authorities confirmed he is now under criminal coercive measures, the clearest sign yet that the country’s property crisis has entered a new and unforgiving phase.
The announcement caps a dramatic nine-month saga. Back in January, Zhu publicly denied rumors of detention in a brief WeChat post. Hours later, he vanished. Days passed without explanation. On January 27, he resigned as CEO alongside chairman Yu Liang just as Vanke revealed stunning projected losses nearing 45 billion yuan for 2024.
Zhu’s downfall isn’t just about one executive. It signals a profound shift in Beijing’s strategy: the era of quiet rescues is ending, and accountability is now on the table. With Vanke’s survival in doubt, the entire real estate industry is holding its breath.
From Banker to Builder of a Giant
Zhu’s rise mirrored China’s own transformation. He spent nearly twenty years at China Construction Bank’s Shenzhen branch starting in 1993, when the city was evolving from factory town to financial powerhouse. In 2012, he jumped to Vanke. Six years later, he became president and CEO.
Inside the company, people called him the “finance brain.” He engineered complex capital structures, embraced leverage, and poured fuel on Vanke’s growth. Debt soared past 1.5 trillion yuan. It seemed brilliant—until the music stopped.
Pressure Mounts and Fault Lines Appear
Authorities have not revealed the specific charges Zhu may face, but his case is now part of the formal criminal process. The surrounding context, however, speaks volumes about the cracks spreading through the property sector.
In July 2024, investors in Peng Jin Suo—an online wealth platform linked to Zhu, where he had chaired its operating company—suddenly couldn’t withdraw their money. Projects stalled. Redemptions froze. Reports from outlets like The Paper and 21st Century Business Herald drew national attention, but the true scale of exposure stayed hidden.
Then came the bombshell in April 2024. A group of Yantai business partners released an open letter accusing Vanke’s top leadership of tax evasion, fund misuse, and even running a high-interest loan operation. Ten companies stamped their names on it. Vanke fiercely denied everything, arguing authorities had never found evidence of tax evasion and that police had already declined to pursue a related complaint in November 2023.
Financial Reality Hits Hard
No matter the allegations, the numbers tell their own brutal story. Vanke swung from a net profit of 121.6 billion yuan in 2023 to a projected loss as high as 495 billion yuan in 2024—one of the biggest financial reversals in Chinese corporate history. From January to September 2025, sales tumbled 44 percent year-over-year.
Credit agencies took notice. On January 21, 2025, S&P Global cut Vanke’s rating to B-minus. The firm warned of weakening cash flow and highlighted more than 360 billion yuan in debt coming due that same year. Analysts believe Vanke faces 300–430 billion yuan in onshore bonds alone, plus around 66 billion yuan offshore.
Shenzhen Metro Group, Vanke’s largest shareholder and state-owned lifeline, stepped in repeatedly throughout 2025—offering around 23.9 billion yuan in loans at roughly 2.3 percent interest to help Vanke stay afloat and avoid defaults. But even that well is running dry.
In October, the architect of those lifelines, Shenzhen Metro chairman Xin Jie, stepped down. His exit spoke louder than any statement. Observers saw it as policy in motion: the government is shifting from rescue to retreat.
“When the Avalanche Comes…”
A phrase now echoes across Chinese financial circles: “When the avalanche comes, no snowflake is innocent.” Zhu’s case fits that chilling narrative. Authorities in Shenzhen appear to be conducting a sweeping anti-corruption cleanup reaching far beyond property developers. Finance firms, tech ventures, and major conglomerates are all under the microscope.
Evergrande. Baoneng. Vanke. Each rode the property wave with leverage and financial engineering. Those tricks no longer work. Today, survival depends on real cash flow, not clever balance sheets.
Critics argue structural flaws helped create this disaster. Vanke’s executives held minimal shares, meaning management faced little personal risk when chasing aggressive strategies. As some observers put it, they enjoyed “responsibility without risk, benefits without alignment.”
The Fight for Survival
Now the biggest question is painfully simple: can Vanke be saved?
If Shenzhen Metro pulls back for good, analysts expect fire-sale asset disposals, creditor-first recoveries, and a desperate effort to shield state funds from losses. In the best-case scenario, Vanke shrinks into a leaner, survival-mode developer. In the worst, it heads down Evergrande’s path—restructuring, lawsuits, and years of uncertainty.
For homebuyers and retail investors who trusted Vanke’s once-pristine reputation, the collapse feels like betrayal. Online forums are flooded with anger, demands for prosecutions, calls for seizing assets, and dark jokes about executives who “moved tens of billions with a few signatures” while ordinary people foot the bill.
China’s broader message is unmistakable. Stimulus has limits. Markets will sort winners from losers. High-leverage real estate is finished. Bailouts belonged to yesterday. Accountability belongs to now.
Zhu Jiusheng, the man who helped build Vanke’s empire, now stands at the center of its possible collapse. His fate could define how China unwinds its property crisis—calmly and systematically, or chaotically and painfully. It may also decide whether the architects of the boom will finally answer for the bust.