{"id":4804,"date":"2023-03-15T16:55:14","date_gmt":"2023-03-15T16:55:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=4804"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:39:35","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:39:35","slug":"chinese-businessman-arrested-for-conspiracy-to-commit-1-billion-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/news\/chinese-businessman-arrested-for-conspiracy-to-commit-1-billion-scam\/2023\/03\/15\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese businessman arrested for conspiracy to commit $1 billion scam"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW<\/span> YORK<\/span> (Brussels Independent with Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> A<\/span> business<\/span> tycoon long<\/span> sought\u00a0by<\/span> the<\/span> Chinese<\/span> government<\/span> and<\/span> known<\/span> to<\/span> have<\/span> ties<\/span> to<\/span> Trump<\/span> administration<\/span> figures,<\/span> including<\/span> Steve<\/span> Bannon,<\/span> was<\/span> arrested<\/span> in<\/span> New<\/span> York.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>His<\/span> Guo<\/span> Wengui,<\/span> 54,<\/span> and<\/span> his<\/span> investor,<\/span> his<\/span> Kin<\/span> Ming<\/span> Je,<\/span> were<\/span> charged<\/span> with<\/span> various<\/span> crimes,<\/span> including<\/span> wire,<\/span> securities<\/span> and<\/span> bank<\/span> fraud,<\/span> and<\/span> were<\/span> indicted<\/span> in<\/span> federal<\/span> court<\/span> in<\/span> Manhattan.<\/span> Guo<\/span> was<\/span> charged<\/span> under<\/span> his<\/span> Ho<\/span> Wan<\/span> Kwok<\/span> name<\/span> in<\/span> court<\/span> documents.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>US<\/span> prosecutors<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> charges<\/span> stemmed<\/span> from<\/span> a<\/span> complicated<\/span> scheme.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Kin<\/span> Ming<\/span> Je,<\/span> 55,<\/span> was<\/span> not<\/span> arrested.<\/span> Guo<\/span> was<\/span> scheduled<\/span> to<\/span> appear<\/span> in<\/span> court<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday.<\/span> His<\/span> attorney<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> initially<\/span> comment.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>U.S.<\/span> Attorney<\/span> Damien<\/span> Williams,<\/span> Manhattan’s<\/span> chief<\/span> attorney,<\/span> said<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> press<\/span> release<\/span> that<\/span> Guo<\/span> was<\/span> accused<\/span> of<\/span> “lining<\/span> his<\/span> pockets<\/span> with<\/span> stolen<\/span> money,<\/span> including<\/span> purchasing<\/span> a<\/span> 50,000-square-foot<\/span> mansion<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> 3.5<\/span> mansion.”<\/span> Also<\/span> included<\/span> are<\/span> funds<\/span> for<\/span> two<\/span> $36,000<\/span> mattresses<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> $37<\/span> million<\/span> luxury<\/span> yacht.<\/span> \u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Guo<\/span> was<\/span> once<\/span> considered<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> China’s<\/span> richest<\/span> men.<\/span> He<\/span> left<\/span> the<\/span> company<\/span> in<\/span> 2014<\/span> during<\/span> an<\/span> anti-corruption<\/span> campaign<\/span> led<\/span> by<\/span> President<\/span> Xi<\/span> Jinping,<\/span> trapping<\/span> people<\/span> close<\/span> to<\/span> Guo,<\/span> including<\/span> senior<\/span> intelligence<\/span> officials.<\/span> Chinese<\/span> authorities<\/span> have<\/span> accused<\/span> Guo<\/span> of<\/span> rape,<\/span> kidnapping,<\/span> bribery<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> crimes.<\/span> Living<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> refugee<\/span> in<\/span> New<\/span> York,<\/span> he<\/span> became<\/span> an<\/span> outspoken<\/span> critic<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> ruling<\/span> Communist<\/span> Party<\/span> and<\/span> formed<\/span> a<\/span> close<\/span> relationship<\/span> with<\/span> Bannon,<\/span> a<\/span> former<\/span> political<\/span> strategist<\/span> for<\/span> President<\/span> Donald<\/span> Trump.<\/span> In<\/span> 2020,<\/span> Guo<\/span> and<\/span> Bannon<\/span> announced<\/span> the<\/span> formation<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> joint<\/span> initiative<\/span> aimed<\/span> at<\/span> overthrowing<\/span> the<\/span> Chinese<\/span> government.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Guo<\/span> has<\/span> long<\/span> claimed<\/span> the<\/span> accusations<\/span> against<\/span> him<\/span> in<\/span> China<\/span> were<\/span> false,<\/span> saying<\/span> he<\/span> should<\/span> be<\/span> punished<\/span> for<\/span> publicly<\/span> denouncing<\/span> corruption<\/span> and<\/span> criticizing<\/span> Communist<\/span> Party<\/span> leaders.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>For<\/span> years,<\/span> his<\/span> case<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> subject<\/span> of<\/span> debate<\/span> as<\/span> to<\/span> whether<\/span> China<\/span> abused<\/span> the<\/span> cooperation<\/span> of<\/span> international<\/span> law<\/span> enforcement<\/span> agencies,<\/span> including<\/span> Interpol,<\/span> to<\/span> secure<\/span> his<\/span> arrest.<\/span> They<\/span> fear<\/span> that<\/span> if<\/span> they<\/span> apply<\/span> for<\/span> asylum<\/span> and<\/span> are<\/span> forced<\/span> to<\/span> leave<\/span> the<\/span> country,<\/span> it<\/span> will<\/span> lead<\/span> to<\/span> arrest<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> country<\/span> that<\/span> is<\/span> less<\/span> able<\/span> to<\/span> resist<\/span> China’s<\/span> demands.<\/span> On<\/span> Guo’s<\/span> 150-foot<\/span> yacht,<\/span> Bannon<\/span> was<\/span> once<\/span> arrested<\/span> on<\/span> federal<\/span> charges.<\/span> Shortly<\/span> before<\/span> Trump<\/span> stepped<\/span> down<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> presidency,<\/span> he<\/span> pardoned<\/span> the<\/span> lawsuit<\/span> against<\/span> Bannon.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>U.S.<\/span> prosecutors<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> charged<\/span> if<\/span> Mr.<\/span> Guo<\/span> lies<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> victims<\/span> and<\/span> invests<\/span> in<\/span> or<\/span> gives<\/span> money<\/span> to<\/span> his<\/span> media<\/span> company,<\/span> GTV<\/span> Media<\/span> Group<\/span> Inc.,<\/span> the<\/span> so-called<\/span> Himalaya<\/span> Farm<\/span> Alliance,<\/span> G’CLUBS,<\/span> Himalaya<\/span> Exchange.<\/span> He<\/span> is<\/span> accused<\/span> of<\/span> promising<\/span> inflated<\/span> profits<\/span> to<\/span> victims.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> Williams,<\/span> the<\/span> U.S.<\/span> government<\/span> said<\/span> he<\/span> seized<\/span> about<\/span> $634<\/span> million<\/span> from<\/span> 21<\/span> bank<\/span> accounts<\/span> from<\/span> September<\/span> 2022<\/span> to<\/span> this<\/span> month,<\/span> the<\/span> majority<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> proceeds<\/span> from<\/span> Guo’s<\/span> alleged<\/span> fraud.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> SEC,<\/span> Guo<\/span> has<\/span> targeted<\/span> retail<\/span> investors<\/span> through<\/span> his<\/span> media<\/span> posts<\/span> and<\/span> videos<\/span> online<\/span> and<\/span> socially,<\/span> with<\/span> lies<\/span> such<\/span> as<\/span> claiming<\/span> that<\/span> a<\/span> crypto<\/span> asset<\/span> called<\/span> “H-Coin”<\/span> is<\/span> backed<\/span> by<\/span> gold<\/span> reserves.<\/span> deceived<\/span> them.<\/span> According<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> SEC,<\/span> Guo<\/span> and<\/span> Je<\/span> raised<\/span> approximately<\/span> $452<\/span> million<\/span> through<\/span> an<\/span> unregistered<\/span> offering<\/span> of<\/span> GTV’s<\/span> common<\/span> stock<\/span> from<\/span> April<\/span> 2020<\/span> to<\/span> June<\/span> 2020,<\/span> making<\/span> it<\/span> the<\/span> “most<\/span> popular<\/span> and<\/span> secure<\/span> social<\/span> media<\/span> We<\/span> are<\/span> building<\/span> a<\/span> transaction<\/span> platform<\/span> that<\/span> can<\/span> be<\/span> used<\/span> independently<\/span> from<\/span> This<\/span> allows<\/span> China<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> people<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> world<\/span> to<\/span> achieve<\/span> freedom<\/span> of<\/span> speech<\/span> and<\/span> freedom<\/span> of<\/span> trade.<\/span> \u201d<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (Brussels Independent with Reuters) – A business tycoon long sought\u00a0by the Chinese government and known to have ties to Trump administration figures, including Steve Bannon, was arrested in New York. His Guo Wengui, 54, and his investor, his Kin Ming Je, were charged with various crimes, including wire, securities and bank fraud, and […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4805,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[779,2425,562,1766],"tags":[1924,1925,1926,1927,905,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/busnfued.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4804"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4808,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4804\/revisions\/4808"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}