(Yicai) Feb. 28 -- The former wife of the founder of China Evergrande Group has filed a lawsuit with a court in Hong Kong to extract more than HKD1 billion (USD128 million) in overdue payments and compensation from their second son, as the fallout from the collapse of the world’s most indebted developer threatens to tear the family apart.

Ding Yumei, who is thought to have divorced from Xu Jiayin, also known as Hui Ka-yan in Cantonese, last year, is taking Peter Xu to court for failing to repay a HKD730 million (USD93.3 million) loan due on June 16, 2020, state broadcaster CCTV News reported yesterday, citing documents filed at the High Court of the Hong Kong Administrative Region on Feb. 26. Ding, who holds a Canadian passport, is also seeking HKD321 million (USD41 million) in compensation

The demise of the firm, which was once China’s second biggest developer by sales, has destroyed the family. Although Ding and Xu Jiayin’s divorce was not publicly announced, Ding appeared in Evergrande’s 2022 financial statements as Xu Jiayin’s spouse, but in an announcement pertaining to the firm’s auto business made in August last year, she was referred to as ‘a third party independent from the company and associated parties.’

Xu Jiayin was detained by police in September last year for alleged crimes and Peter Xu, who served as chairman of Evergrande’s branch in the Pearl River Delta for many years, is rumored to have been taken away with him, company insiders said.

Peter Xu’s phone number was no longer in service when Yicai tried to ring him.

Evergrande has been in deep financial trouble since the second half of 2021. Hard hit by a sluggish real estate market and tighter financing requirements, it has amassed debts of CNY2.4 trillion (USD333.4 billion).

Top Shine Global of Intershore Consult Samoa filed a winding-up petition against Evergrande in June 2022 because the builder owed it HKD860 million (USD110 million). But Evergrande asked the court to delay the hearing seven times in order for it to prepare a restructuring plan, so the process was extended to this year.

A Hong Kong court ordered the Shenzhen-based company to go into liquidation last month, saying that it had failed to make significant progress with its debt restructuring plan.

Editor: Kim Taylor