Chinese promoter Evergrande's electric car company has announced the arrest of an executive

BANGKOK (AP) — Chinese police have arrested a senior director at Chinese electric car company Evergrande, in a new sign of trouble facing the world's most indebted real estate developer.

China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle reported the arrest of Liu Yongzhou in a report to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday after trading in its shares was suspended.

Over the weekend, it emerged that Zhongzhi Enterprise Group, a large opaque bank in China that has lent billions of yuan (dollars) to property developers, has filed for bankruptcy after failing to pay its debts.

A government crackdown on excessive debt that began several years ago has caused dozens of developers to close or struggle to survive. The crisis in this sector has slowed down an important part of China's economic engine, and has had a tangible impact on financial markets.

Stocks fell on Monday in Hong Kong and Shanghai, with the benchmark Hang Seng Index losing 2.2%. China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group shares fell 3.6% as trading resumed in the afternoon. Evergrande Group shares lost 1.4%.

Evergrande New Energy Vehicle shares lost nearly 20% last week after a share sale deal to Dubai-based NWTN collapsed. The brief announcement about Liu's arrest on “suspicion of illegal crimes” made no mention of those negotiations and did not provide further details.