From his golden exile in Manhattan, he presented himself as a fierce opponent of the Chinese regime, ready to ally himself with the sulphurous Steve Bannon. Billionaire Guo Wengui was arrested in New York on Wednesday, accused of defrauding thousands of investors to enrich himself. Traqué par la Chine, où il est accusé de fraudus financières, Guo Wengui été finally rattrapé par le parquet fédéral de Manhattan, qui a délivré an acte d’inculpación containing eleven accusations of electronic fraud, fraud en matière de titres, fraud bancaire et money laundering. Offenses punishable in most of it with 20 years in prison.
He was arrested Wednesday morning in New York by the federal police (FBI) in his luxurious apartment in Manhattan, in a building overlooking Central Park. Hours later, a fire broke out in the same building, causing no injuries, and authorities are investigating whether the incident was related to the arrest, local media reported. Appearing before a judge on Wednesday afternoon, Guo Wengui “pleaded not guilty and agreed to be detained,” the prosecution told AFP. His lawyers, requested, did not respond.
Mansion and luxury cars
Guo Wengui is accused of taking advantage of his internet notoriety since 2018 to encourage thousands of people to invest funds in his companies or projects, such as GTV Private Placement, or G/Clubs, that promised profitable investments or luxury services. but above all it would have allowed him to lead the way and “fill his pockets”, in the words of Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams.
The US justice system has also seized more than 630 million dollars in bank accounts or real estate and securities, “product of this alleged fraud”, such as a sumptuous mansion of more than 4,600 m2 in New Jersey or luxury vehicles from Bugatti, Lamborghini or Rolls. Royce. The fraud represents more than a billion dollars, according to the federal prosecutor.
The businessman, who had made his fortune in real estate, moved to the United States in 2015, fleeing China, where he was the target of a red alert from Interpol, for financial fraud that he denies. A fierce critic of Beijing, although he found qualities in President Xi Jinping -and in Donald Trump-, the businessman promised to do everything possible to democratize the Chinese regime. “I want to try to achieve the rule of law, achieve democracy, freedom. That is my ultimate goal, a change of regime”, if possible “within three years”, he explained to AFP in 2017, in the luxurious apartment of he. in manhattan
Steve Bannon ally
A year later, he had formalized an alliance with the sulfurous ex-advisor to Donald Trump and American far-right figure Steve Bannon, in order to expose the crimes perpetrated by them according to the Chinese government. Together, Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon formed a pressure group opposed to the Chinese Communist Party: the New Federal State of China. Steve Bannon was arrested in August 2020 on the Chinese businessman’s yacht, in an embezzlement case linked to the anti-immigration wall project on the border with Mexico, a flagship promise of the former Republican president.
An alleged accomplice of Guo Wengui, his “financier” Kin Ming Je, is also the subject of charges by the Manhattan federal prosecutor’s office, but is “at large” and wanted by US justice.
Source: BFM TV
