BREAKING NEWS: Exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui is arrested in NYC on $1bn fraud charges: Is close friend of Steve Bannon and owned yacht ex-Trump svengali was arrested on
- Guo Wengui, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, was detained by agents on Wednesday morning
- Prosecutors say he spent money from a $1bn fraud of a mansion, yacht, Ferrari and ‘even two $36,000 mattresses’
- Wengui was closely-linked to Steve Bannon, the right wing firebrand who helped Donald Trump security victory in the 2016 presidential election
An exiled Chinese billionaire with links to Steve Bannon has been arrested by the FBI in New York over allegations he masterminded a $1 billion fraud.
Guo Wengui, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, was detained by agents on Wednesday morning.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: ‘Kwok is charged with lining his pockets with the money he stole, including buying himself, and his close relatives, a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari and even two $36,000 mattresses, and financing a $37 million luxury yacht.’
Guo was closely-linked to Bannon, the right wing firebrand who helped Donald Trump security victory in the 2016 presidential election then served as chief strategist in the White House.
Bannon was arrested on Guo’s 152ft yacht Lady May in August 2020 on fraud charges linked to the We Build the Wall fundraising campaign for a wall between the US and Mexico.
Guo Wengui is pictured, left, with Steve Bannon, right. In 2018, Guo linked up with Bannon for a gimmick attempt to overthrow China’s communist government
The SEC has also filed charges against Guo and his financial advisor Kin Ming Je that allege ‘multiple offering frauds’ targeting retail investors online and through social media.
‘Since in or about April 2020, Guo has conducted fraudulent securities offerings that have collectively raised at least hundreds of millions of dollars from investors in the United States and around the world,’ the SEC filing said.
‘Unbeknownst to those investors, Guo and his financial adviser, Je, misappropriated a large portion of the funds raised from certain of the Subject Offerings in order to enrich themselves and their family members.’
Guo earned billions through business ventures in China before he fled to the US in 2014 to flee arrest on allegations of bribery, kidnapping, money laundering, fraud and rape.
He filed for bankruptcy in the US in February last year and claimed his assets had dwindled to less than $100,000.
In 2018, Guo linked up with Bannon for a gimmick attempt to overthrow China’s communist government. They mounted a stunt which saw a plane carrying an anti-CCP banner flown over the Statue of Liberty.
Guo also shed his own blood on a document vowing to overthrow Chinese President Xi Jinping’s party.
This is a breaking story.
