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STORY: The chairman of troubled property giant China Evergrande, Hui Ka Yan, is being investigated on suspicion of transferring assets offshore.

That's according to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday, coming as the company struggles to complete unfinished projects.

It follows news from Evergrande on Thursday that Chinese authorities were probing Hui for unspecified "illegal crimes".

Evergrande is the world's most indebted developer with more than $300 billion in total liabilities.

Since 2021, its financial woes have weighed on the Chinese economy, as well as global markets.

The embattled developer has been working to get creditors' approval to restructure its offshore debt.

But the process grew more complicated last week, when Evergrande said it could not issue new debt because of police investigations.

On Friday, Reuters reported sources as saying Evergrande had sold its luxury superyacht for about $32 million earlier this year.

That further shrinks the developer's offshore assets, coming at a time when Evergrande's bondholders are set to sharpen their focus on what the company owns overseas.

Reuters also reported last week that a group of offshore creditors was planning to join a court petition to liquidate the developer if it did not submit a new debt restructuring plan by the end of October.

Evergrande did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment during the week-long National Day holiday.

Trading in the shares of Evergrande and two of its units was suspended on Thursday, after media reported that Hui was under police watch.