A screenshot of the video circulating on the Internet shows Liu Qiangdong being handcuffed on the night of August 31.(Internet)
(Shanghai/Minneapolis Composite News) Liu Qiangdong, the Chinese billionaire, chairman and CEO of JD Group, was arrested in the United States last Friday (August 31) on suspicion of sexual assault.Regarding this matter, the US police released a report yesterday stating that Liu Qiangdong was arrested on suspicion of rape.
Based on Reuters and financial reports, Minneapolis Police Department spokesman Elder said that Liu Qiangdong was accused of being involved in rape at around 1:00 a.m. on the same day, and the police arrested him in the evening of the same day.
According to Minnesota law, the definition of criminal behavior includes five levels. Liu Qiangdong's suspected first-degree rape is the highest level. If he is formally convicted, he may be sentenced to a minimum of 12 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Elder revealed that the police report was written on the night of Liu Qiangdong's arrest and was made public because it was a public file.
After Liu Qiangdong was released the day after his arrest, he took a private jet back to China. The day before yesterday, he appeared at the Jingdong headquarters in Beijing to attend the signing ceremony.However, as to whether Liu Qiangdong will hold a morning meeting of senior executives as usual, people from JD.com’s public relations department did not respond positively.
The industry generally believes that Liu Qiangdong, who owns 80% of JD.com's voting rights, is the soul of the company. If he does not participate in corporate governance for a long time, it is likely to affect the company's future operating conditions.
Elder previously revealed that the criminal investigation will not be completed before this Friday (7th), and no charges will be brought against Liu Qiangdong before that.
Liu Qiangdong's lawyer Friedberg said the day before yesterday that Liu Qiangdong should not be prosecuted without any criminal facts.
But police spokesman Elder responded to this statement: Lawyers are doing things for their employers. If the investigation evidence is sufficient, we will prosecute, and if the charges are not established, we will withdraw the case.
A lawyer in Beijing believes that if Liu Qiangdong is prosecuted, there are not many legal channels to force him to return to the United States for trial, but it is unlikely that Liu Qiangdong will refuse to appear in court due to possible damage to his business interests.There is currently no extradition treaty between China and the United States.
Affected by rumors of sexual assault, JD.com, which was listed on NASDAQ in the United States, fell 5.97% the day before yesterday, and fell again after the opening of the market yesterday. It once fell by 6.5%, hitting a new low for the year.Citigroup also recently included JD.com in its negative watch list.
According to reports from Wall Street, three US law firms announced yesterday that they will investigate whether JD.com is suspected of misrepresenting Liu Qiangdong’s case, thereby causing losses to JD.com’s investors.The three law firms are also inviting investors whose investments have been compromised to participate in the investigation and possible class actions.When JD.com responded to the incident on the 2nd of this month, it stated that Liu Qiangdong was falsely accused. After investigation, the police have determined that Liu Qiangdong did not have any wrongdoing.
In addition, Jiang Pingting, who was suspected to be the heroine of this incident, posted a statement on Weibo yesterday, saying that she has been studying, living and working in Singapore since 2010. She just returned to China recently, and Liu Qiangdong has never met.There is no intersection, and it is impossible to be related to this matter.
