A UK court allowed the ex-wife of China Evergrande Group founder Hui Ka Yan to spend as much as £20,000 (US$26,187) a month after freezing her assets, in a case brought by the developer’s liquidators.

The move is part of efforts aimed at recovering about HK$2.8 billion (US$359 million). The money was paid to Ding Yu Mei through two of her wholly owned corporate vehicles as dividends between 2018 and 2020. Ding was allowed the monthly living expenses and to pay legal fees of as much as £350,000 in August, according to court documents. 

She held a 5.99% stake in Evergrande, according to filings last year. Ding has over US$4 million in her UK bank account, according to a court document dated Aug 29, and lives in a luxury London apartment that’s part of Thames City, a project developed by CC Land Holdings Ltd, chaired by Hui’s long-timed friend Cheung Chung Kiu.

The lawsuit is part of wider efforts to recover US$6 billion in dividends and remuneration from the founder, his ex-wife, former chief executive officer Xia Haijun, and former chief financial officer Pan Darong. A Hong Kong court earlier this year ordered Evergrande’s winding-up, kickstarting one of China’s biggest liquidation cases. 

Lawyers for Ding declined to comment, while lawyers for Evergrande’s liquidator didn’t return messages seeking comment.  

Hui, once Asia’s second-richest person with a US$42 billion net worth, lost most of his fortune as Evergrande slid into financial distress. 

The liquidators have obtained injunctions restraining Hui, Ding and Xia from dealing with, disposing of, or diminishing the value of - up to prescribed limits - their assets around the world, according to an earlier Hong Kong filing.

  - Bloomberg