From his gilded 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.
Hunted by China, where he is accused of financial fraud, Guo Wengui, 52, was eventually caught by the Manhattan Federal Prosecutor's Office, which issued an indictment containing eleven charges of wire fraud, securities fraud , bank fraud and money laundering. Most crimes punishable by 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 with a view of 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.
Presented to a judge on Wednesday afternoon, Guo Wengui "pleaded not guilty and agreed to be placed in detention", the prosecution told AFP. His lawyers, solicited, did not respond.
Guo Wengui is accused of having taken advantage of his notoriety on the internet since 2018 to encourage thousands of people to invest funds in his companies or projects, such as GTV Private Placement, or G/Clubs, which promised profitable investments or services of luxury, but above all would have allowed him to lead the way and "fill his pockets", in the words of Manhattan federal prosecutor Damian Williams.
American justice has also made seizures for more than 630 million dollars on bank accounts or in 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 targeted by an Interpol red notice, for financial fraud he denies.
A fierce critic of Beijing, while finding qualities in President Xi Jinping - and Donald Trump - the businessman promised to do everything to democratize the Chinese regime.
"I want to try to achieve a rule of law, to achieve democracy, freedom, this is my ultimate goal, a change of the regime", if possible "within three years", he explained in 2017 to AFP, in his luxurious apartment in Manhattan.
A year later, he had formalized an alliance with Donald Trump's sulphurous former adviser and figure of the American hard right Steve Bannon, in order to expose the crimes perpetrated according to them by the Chinese government.
Together, Guo Wengui and Steve Bannon formed a lobby 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 related to the proposed wall against immigration at the Mexican border, a flagship promise of the former Republican president .
An alleged accomplice of Guo Wengui, his "financier" Kin Ming Je, is also the subject of the indictment of the federal prosecutor's office in Manhattan, but he is "at large" and wanted by American justice.
03/15/2023 23:25:30 - New York (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
