Police in China have detained some employees of China Evergrande Group’s wealth management unit, suggesting a new investigation that could add to the real estate giant’s problems, Reuters and news.ro reported.

“Recently, public security authorities have taken coercive criminal measures against Du and other suspected criminals from Evergrande Financial Wealth Management Co,” Shenzhen city police said.

During protests by disgruntled investors at Evergrande’s headquarters in Shenzhen in 2021, employees identified Du Liang as the general manager and legal representative of Evergrande’s wealth management department.

Reuters could not confirm that Du was among those detained, and the police statement did not specify the number of people detained, the charges or the date of their detention.

China Evergrande did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Police said the investigation by the financial management unit was ongoing and urged investors to report any other financial crimes.

China Evergrande, the world’s most indebted property developer, is at the center of a crisis in China’s real estate sector, which has been marked by a series of debt defaults since late 2021 that has weighed on the country’s economic growth.

On Friday, the group, which is currently engaged in a protracted debt restructuring that has led to the offloading of a number of assets, said it had postponed a decision on the restructuring of the offshore debt from September until next month.

Evergrande shares were suspended for 17 months until August 28.

Moody’s on Thursday changed its outlook for China’s housing sector from stable to negative, citing economic problems that it said would lead to lower sales despite government support.

Photo source: Tse Pui Lung, Dreamstime.com