Chinese fugitive arrested for $1b fraud

Guo Wengui, one of China's most wanted fugitives, was arrested in New York on Wednesday on charges that he oversaw a $1 billion fraud conspiracy, local media reported.

The 54-year-old had been accused of multiple crimes before he fled China in 2014 and arrived in the United States the next year. He is also the subject of an Interpol Red Notice — an international arrest warrant.

The US Justice Department accused Guo along with his co-conspirator and another aide of various crimes, including wire and securities fraud. Guo was charged in court papers under the name Ho Wan Kwok.

US prosecutors said the indictment stemmed from a complex scheme in which Guo lied to hundreds of thousands of people around the world before misappropriating hundreds of millions of dollars.

At an arraignment in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, Guo pleaded not guilty through his attorney. One of his lawyers did not immediately comment.

The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, US Attorney Damian Williams, said in a statement that Guo was charged with "lining his pockets with the money he stole, including buying himself, and his close relatives, a 50,000-square-foot (4,645-square-meter) mansion, a $3.5 million Ferrari, and even two $36,000 mattresses, and financing a $37 million luxury yacht".

As he lived in New York, he developed a close relationship with Steve Bannon, former US president Donald Trump's political strategist.

In 2020, Bannon was arrested on a charge of defrauding donors while he was aboard Guo's 45-meter yacht anchored off Connecticut.

According to media outlets, Guo was arrested in his luxury apartment near Central Park on Wednesday morning. Prosecutors asked that Guo be held because of the risk he could flee and "the danger he poses to the community". They say Guo would face more than 100 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Guo's co-conspirator, Je Kin Ming, 55, who had been living in London, was indicted in the case but has not been arrested.

Yanping Wang, described by media as Guo's top aide, also faces charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud.

Since September, the US government has seized approximately $634 million from 21 bank accounts associated with Guo.

The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, also brought civil charges against Guo on Wednesday, accusing him of deceiving investors through dishonest online and social media posts and videos, including some that claimed a crypto asset called "H-Coin" was backed by gold reserves.

Agencies contributed to this story.