Wall Street Journal

  Guo Wengui's life has been likened to a story from a spy thriller. The controversial billionaire, once one of China's richest men, has positioned himself as an activist trying "to expose the leviathan Chinese mafia state." An ally of Steve Bannon and other pro-Trump Republicans, Guo has also variously portrayed himself as a rapper, online influencer, crypto guru and real estate mogul. The enigma around the billionaire deepened this week after US authorities charged the property tycoon with orchestrating a billion-dollar fraud. Much of his background is still shrouded in mystery and Guo's exact purpose and loyalties are the subject of speculation and conspiracy theories.  Here's what we know about Guo and his outlandish lifestyle:  Guo grew up in a village in Xicaoying, in the Chinese province of Shandong New tower blocks being constructed in Zhengzhou in 2007.  Orjan F. Ellingvag/Dagens Naringsliv/Corbis via Getty Images Guo was born into an impoverished fam...

 Chinese tycoon and Bannon ally Guo Wengui charged with $1bn fraud Chinese billionaire and CCP critic is accused of pocketing investment funds from his thousands of followers online. 16 Mar 2023 Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire known for his opposition to Beijing and ties to the administration of former US President Donald Trump, has been charged in the United States with defrauding investors out of $1bn. Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok and Miles Guo, was arrested in New York on Wednesday over an alleged conspiracy involving the misappropriation of hundreds of millions of dollars obtained from his thousands of followers online, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. Guo is accused of pocketing money raised from investors who were promised outsized returns for backing a number of his business ventures, including the media company GTV Media Group, an exclusive membership club known as G|CLUBS and a cryptocurrency called Himalaya Coin. Guo is accused of using some of the fu...

 Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui was arrested in New York for orchestrating what the Department of Justice called a more than $1 billion fraud conspiracy. Guo, also known as Miles Kwok, is an associate of former Trump White House advisor Steve Bannon. The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a related civil complaint against Guo and his co-defendant in the criminal case, William Je, a financial advisor. Bannon, while working with ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, had “arranged for Guo and his followers to spread salacious videos and pictures from” a laptop owned by Hunter Biden, the son of President Joe Biden, a magazine has reported. Controversial  exiled Chinese billionaire  Guo Wengui  — an associate of former Trump White House advisor  Steve Bannon  — was arrested Wednesday in New York for allegedly orchestrating a complex $1 billion  fraud scheme  that duped online followers with promises of outsized investment returns. Guo  allegedly us...

 The outlandish life of Guo Wengui, once one of China’s richest men and Steve Bannon confidant whom the DOJ accuses of a billion-dollar fraud Chinese businessman Guo Wengui has been arrested on fraud charges.  He's a critic of the Chinese government and associate of Trumpist Republicans.  Guo is accused of stealing billions from followers to fund a luxury lifestyle. 

  (CNN) -- El multimillonario chino y disidente proclamado Guo Wengui fue arrestado este miércoles y acusado de defraudar a miles de seguidores de más de US$ 1.000 millones a través de esquemas de inversión complejos, anunciaron fiscales estadounidenses este miércoles. Guo es un crítico acérrimo del gobierno chino exiliado en Manhattan, es cercano al exasesor de Donald Trump Steve Bannon y fue detenido en Nueva York este miércoles por la mañana. Está acusado de defraudar o apropiarse indebidamente del dinero de los inversores utilizando diferentes esquemas, incluida su empresa de medios GTV Media Group, un programa de préstamos agrícolas a través de Himalaya Farm Alliance y una criptomoneda llamada Himalaya Coin. Guo también es conocido como Ho Wan Kwok y Miles Guo. Los fiscales del caso dijeron que en lugar de usar el dinero de la forma en que prometió a los inversionistas potenciales, Guo dirigió los fondos para invertir en un fondo de cobertura para beneficiar a GTV y un parient...

 Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui, the exiled businessman and vocal critic of Beijing with ties to former Donald Trump adviser Steve Bannon, was charged with fraud after the US seized $634 million linked to his alleged crimes. Arrested Wednesday at 6:24 a.m. by FBI agents at his luxury apartment in Manhattan’s Sherry-Netherland hotel, Guo was later brought before a judge over the alleged billion-dollar fraud. But first, in a strange turn of events, a two-alarm fire broke out on the hotel’s 18th floor, where Guo — also known as Miles Kwok — lives. The New York Fire Department is investigating the blaze. And now Guo will spend the night in jail, after pleading not guilty and consenting to detention. He will stay there if a judge doesn’t grant his planned application for release on bail.

  FBI investigates fire where Chinese billionaire, a Steve Bannon ally, was arrested Guo Wengui is accused of orchestrating a $1 billion fraud. ByAaron Katersky ABCNews logo Thursday, March 16, 2023 4:09AM NEW YORK --  Guo Wengui, an exiled Chinese billionaire with business ties to Steve Bannon, has been arrested on federal charges out of New York. Guo owned the 152-foot-long yacht Lady May on which Bannon was arrested in August 2020. Guo and Bannon have been under investigation in connection with GTV Media Group, which the Securities and Exchange Commission previously accused of violating securities laws. The FBI arrested Guo, also known as Ho Wan Kwok, Wednesday morning in New York on charges he orchestrated a $1 billion fraud. "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," U.S....

 A Chinese tycoon wanted in China and closely tied to president Donald Trump's former political advisor Steve Bannon was arrested in New York Wednesday and charged with bilking some $1 billion from supporters of his anti-Beijing activities. The US Justice Department accused Guo Wengui and still-at-large British co-conspirator Je Kin Ming of stealing funds from participants in an investment scheme so they could buy luxuries, including a yacht, a 50,000 square foot (4,645 square meter) mansion and a $3.5 million Ferrari. A court official said late Wednesday that Guo pleaded not guilty but consented to detention in an initial arrest hearing. Hours after his 6:00 am arrest at his Manhattan penthouse apartment overlooking Central Park, a fire broke out in his building, raising suspicions the two could be linked. Guo's arrest came nine years after the one-time property billionaire fled China in 2014, having faced charges of fraud and corruption even as he became an outspoken critic o...