Guo Wengui: Chinese billionaire, who had close ties with Trump advisor Bannon, arrested in US

Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, who is wanted in Beijing and has close ties withSteve Bannon, a former political advisor to Donald Trump, was arrested by New York police on Wednesday and faced charges of bilking around $1 billion from people supportive of his anti-Beijing activities.

Wengui, along with still-at-large British co-conspirator Je Kin Ming, was accused by the US Justice Department of stealing funds from people who participated in an investment scheme so that they can purchase luxuries, which include a 50,000 square foot (4,645 square metres) mansion, a yacht and a $3.5 million Ferrari.

On Wednesday, a court official said that Guo pleaded not guilty but agreed to detention during an initial arrest hearing. A fire broke out in the building of his Manhattan penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park, a few hours post his 6 am arrest.

The arrest of Guo came nine years after the property billionaire left China in 2014 where he was facing charges of corruption and fraud even as he openly spoke about the graft inside the Chinese government.

The Justice Department said that Guo, using his Cantonese name, Ho Wan Kwok, leveraged his prominence as Chinese leader Xi Jinping government's critic while he remained in exile in New York where he builta massive group of online supporters.

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His supporters were encouraged to invest or donate to non-profits and businesses which were controlled by Guo, including GTV Media group, where Bannon was a director.

The activity spread to other avenues raising hundreds of millions of dollars which included the Himalaya Exchange cryptocurrency issuer, a luxury club, and the Himalaya Farm Alliance which promised to provide discounted shares of GTV to its shares.

(With inputs from agencies)

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