Chinese businessman Guo Wengui arrested in New York: Steve Bannon’s partner “involved billion-dollar followers”, penthouse fire during house search

The 52-year-old Guo Wengui, whose real name is Wan Kwok but also known as Miles Guo, fled China in 2015 because he was threatened with persecution. He settled in New York.

There he was in the spotlight for his relations with Steve Bannon, former advisor to former President Donald Trump. Bannon called Goo “the Donald Trump of Beijing.” Guo and Bannon start a lobbying group against the Chinese Communist Party. Two organizations they co-founded, the Rule of Law Foundation and the Rule of Law Association, have also been linked to promoting the theory that the coronavirus was manufactured in a Chinese laboratory.

These two organizations were used by Guo to “gather together followers who also opposed China and were inclined to believe his statements about investments and money-making opportunities,” according to the Southern District of New York prosecutor and FBI chief in New York City.

In 2020, Bannon is caught aboard Guo’s yacht in a fraud case involving the construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border.

Money was stolen for his luxurious life

Now Guo Wengui himself has been caught in a fraud investigation. The Chinese businessman is said to have raised money for investments from his online followers, but then stole the money and used it himself to live a luxurious life.

He has funded a 4,645 square foot New Jersey mansion, a $3.3 million Ferrari, a $4.4 million personal Bugatti, $37 million worth of luxury yacht maintenance, $978 thousand carpets, and more. himself and his family members.

Guo Wengui is suspected of “leading an elaborate plot to extort more than $1 billion from his thousands of online followers” between 2018 and 2023. He did so, among other things, through investments in GTV Media Group, G Club, and Farm Loan Program, and Himalaya Exchange, with Himalaya Coin and Himalaya Dollar cryptocurrencies.

The man is also accused of “laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in stolen funds to cover up illegal conspiracy activities and continue fraudulent activities.”

The police have already seized $634 million in 21 different bank accounts, just like the Lamborghini.

Hours after the businessman was arrested, a fire broke out in his New York penthouse while the FBI was conducting a search. The investigation into the cause of the fire is still underway.

The financier also sued

In addition to Guo Wengui, the “financier” Kin Ming Je, or “William” Je, was also charged. I have owned and operated several companies and investment vehicles at the center of the plot, and have been the financial engineer and chief money launderer. Millions of extorted funds were also transferred to his or his wife’s personal accounts. The man, who holds dual British and Hong Kong citizenship, has yet to be arrested.

“The charges in the indictment stem from an alleged and elaborate scheme by the defendants and others to solicit investment in various entities and programs through false statements and representations of hundreds of thousands of Guo Wengui’s online followers,” according to a press release from the Public Prosecution Service and the FBI.

The 11 charges against Guo and 12 against Ji – who is also charged with obstruction of justice – carry a maximum penalty of between five and 20 years in prison.

Relationships with Tony Blair and Rudy Giuliani

Guo wasn’t just having affairs with Steve Bannon. The New Yorker wrote a few months ago that the businessman’s request to buy his penthouse in a private New York building contained a personal recommendation from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. He is reported to have said: “Miles is honest, forthright, and of impeccable taste.” However, according to The New Yorker, Guo was at the center of “a burgeoning corruption and espionage scandal” in China.

The businessman also allegedly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to “Trump advisors, including Steve Bannon, Rudy Giuliani and attorney L. Lynn Wood, who joined the effort to reverse the 2020 election.”