China bizman back home after US arrest
BEIJING: One of China’s richest businessmen, Liu Qiangdong, has returned home after his arrest for alleged sexual misconduct in the US over the weekend, with the foreign ministry here saying on Monday it is “closely following” the matter.
Liu Qiangdong, who uses the English name Richard, is the billionaire founder of e-commerce giant Jd.com. He was brought in by police in Minnesota late on Friday on an accusation of “criminal sexual conduct” and released more than 16 hours later, according to arrest records.
A Minneapolis police depart- ment spokesman declined to provide further details. No travel restrictions were imposed on him while police conducted their probe.
Reports in China suggested 44-year-old Liu, who is worth $8 billion, was arrested for allegedly assaulting a Chinese student at the University of Minnesota.
The foreign ministry said it is looking into the circumstances surrounding Liu’s arrest. The Chinese consulate in Chicago is “closely following the relevant situation” and trying to verify facts regarding the matter, for- eign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing on Monday.
A Minneapolis police department spokesperson said over the weekend the investigation was “active” but Liu hadn’t been charged. “We are confident that we will be able to get in touch with him as the time becomes necessary,” the spokesperson said.
Jd.com denied the charge against Liu. Jd.com’s CEO was “wrongly charged with sexual assault during a business trip in the US”, the company said on its official Sina Weibo account.