US detains a Chinese billionaire

Guo Wengui is suspected of defrauding tens of thousands of people out of $1 billion via investment scams.

Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui is wanted by the US authorities on charges of conspiring to swindle investors. US authorities claim that the individual defrauded hundreds of thousands of his internet followers by persuading them to invest money in his enterprises through his anti-Beijing rhetoric.

On Wednesday, the indictments against the entrepreneur and his business associate, Kin Ming Je, were made public. Ho Wan Kwok, along with five other names, including “Brother Seven,” “The Principal,” and his most well-known pseudonym, Guo Wengui, were all used to identify the individual in court documents.

His business partner was also charged with obstructing justice, and both men were accused of wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. They risk serving several years in jail.

Wednesday morning saw Guo’s arrest, and in a Manhattan federal court, he entered a not guilty plea. His accomplice hasn’t been caught yet.

The Chinese billionaire “directed a sophisticated scheme to swindle thousands of his internet fans out of more than $1 billion,” according to US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.

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Guo has been in the US since roughly 2015 and is a prominent opponent of the Chinese government. He gained a sizable internet following by using phoney charitable groups to disseminate his political beliefs. The accusations state that after earning his followers’ confidence, he used it to defraud them of money by making promises of “outsized” investment returns.

Guo works with Steve Bannon, a senior aide to former US President Donald Trump. They worked together in the media industry. Bannon was detained in 2020 on Guo’s boat, the Lady May, in connection with a separate fraud investigation. In the last weeks of his administration, Trump pardoned Bannon.

Guo, who was a real estate tycoon before departing for good in 2014, is being accused of crimes that are similar to those he was charged with at home. He was added to Interpol’s global wanted list in 2017 after the Chinese government accused him of bribery and embezzlement. Guo made the assertion that he was a whistleblower out to expose Beijing’s wrongdoings.