Chinese billionaire arrested in Minnesota

BEIJING — The billionaire founder of JD.com, one of China’s largest and most successful online retailers, was arrested Friday in Minnesota on an allegation of sexual misconduct before being released a day later, police records show.

Police in Minneapolis said they are treating the case as an active investigation.

In a statement posted Sunday on the Chinese social-media platform Weibo, JD.com said that Liu Qiangdong — who goes by Richard Liu in the Englishspeaking world — had been falsely accused.

“During a business trip to the United States, Mr. Liu was questioned by police in Minnesota in relation to an unsubstantiated accusation,” the company said. “The local police quickly determined there was no substance to the claim against Mr. Liu, and he was subsequently able to resume his business activities as originally planned.”

The matter is an another unwelcome bit of publicity for a company that symbolizes the business potential of China’s rising middle class. The accusation also could be a test of JD.com’s stability and of the ability of a Chinese technology company to rebound from the problems of its leaders.

According to the jail roster for the Hennepin County sheriff’s office, Liu was taken into custody by Minneapolis police late Friday on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct and then freed Saturday afternoon without bail. In Minnesota, the term “criminal sexual conduct” covers a range of nonconsensual sexual contact.

A spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department said Liu was released “pending formal complaint.” Spokesman John Elder said police could have held Liu through Tuesday.

After their investigation, police will recommend to prosecutors whether Liu should be charged and, if so, whether the charge should be a misdemeanor or a felony.