Guo Wengui: Chinese critic and billionaire arrested in New York for £830 million fraud

Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire and self-declared dissident, was detained on Wednesday and charged with scamming thousands of followers out of more than $1 billion (£830 million) via complex investment schemes, according to U.S. authorities. Guo and one of his business partners, Kin Ming Je, are accused of wire fraud, securities fraud, bank fraud and money laundering.

Guo is a critic of the Chinese government

He is a fervent critic of the Chinese government who lives in exile in Manhattan and is connected to Steve Bannon, a former adviser to Donald Trump, was arrested in New York on Wednesday morning.

Guo, 52, is accused of scamming or misappropriating investor funds through a number of schemes, including those involving his media company, GTV Media Group, the Himalaya Farm Alliance farm loan programme, and a cryptocurrency called Himalaya Coin.

Fire breaks out at Guo's Manhattan penthouse

A few hours after Guo was detained, a fire started in his Manhattan penthouse apartment earlier on Wednesday as the FBI was executing a search warrant there. The fire was put out, no injuries were reported, and the reason is still being looked into, according to Nicholas Biase, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.

Guo said in an earlier online post that he spent over an hour being questioned while being handcuffed.

Guo's many aliases

Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo some of the aliases additional names that Guo goes by.

Guo was accused of not using the money as he promised to potential investors, according to the prosecution.

Guo's assets

According to the prosecution, instead of investing the money as he had promised potential investors, Guo used it to maintain his $37 million (£30 million), 145-foot luxury yacht, $4.4 million (£3.6 million) 55,000 sq ft mansion in New Jersey, and $4.4 million (£3.6 million) custom-built Bugatti sports car, Lamborghini and Ferrari cars and nearly $1million worth of Chinese and Persian rugs.

Prosecutors say $100 million was put into a high-risk hedge fund and other money was spent on luxury goods including a $140,000 piano, a $62,000 television and a $53,000 fireplace log cradle holder as well as to invest in a hedge fund for GTV and a relative.

Guo agreed to be detained, but a federal judge denied him bail.

Guo's attorney was contacted by CNN for comment.

Guo's non-profit organisations

He launched two charitable organisations together. The non-profit organisations were connected to a movement supporting the idea that the new coronavirus was probably created in a Chinese laboratory. Guo and Bannon were the co-founders of the Rule of Law groups. In this case, Bannon is not facing any charges.

In 2020, Bannon was detained aboard Guo's yacht on suspicion of fraud relating to a fundraising campaign for a border wall. Trump pardoned Bannon but indicted him on comparable state crimes. Bannon has entered a not-guilty plea.

According to prosecutors, a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster and $634 million (£524 million) from 21 bank accounts have been frozen.

Before departing the nation in 2014, Guo, a real estate developer, purportedly rose to become one of China's wealthiest men.

He requested political asylum in the United States in 2017 on the grounds of alleged persecution by Communist Party officials.

Guo has been the target of social media campaigns in support of the Chinese government, but he has also came under fire for allegedly using his websites and social media accounts to share disinformation on COVID-19 and other matters.

After his arrest, one of Guo's foundations said in a statement that all the allegations against him were "fabricated and unwarranted" and accused the U.S. justice system of being controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, without providing any evidence.