Liu Qiangdong's sexual assault in the United States finally waited for the results of the prosecution.At 2:00 pm local time on December 21st (3:00 am on December 22nd, Beijing time), Hennepin County Prosecutor Mike Freeman in Minnesota announced that he would not prosecute Liu Qiangdong for alleged sexual assault.
Following a thorough investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department's Sex Crimes Unit and a meticulous review by four senior sexual assault prosecutors, it was determined that there were serious evidentiary problems that make it extremely unlikely that any criminal charges will be proven beyond a reasonable doubt(beyond a reasonable doubt).Hennepin County prosecutors said in a news release.
Like many sexual assault incidents, this was a complicated situation, Freeman said in the release.It's also similar to other sexual assault cases where the suspect insists the sex was consensual.As we reviewed surveillance footage, text messages, police body camera video, and witness statements, it became clear that we could not meet our burden of proof, and therefore we were unable to press charges.We will not go into detail because we do not want to victimize this young woman again.
Hennepin County prosecutors described the events of the day in a news release.Liu Qiangdong, 45, was working on a program at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.On the evening of August 30, he had dinner with a large group of friends and colleagues at a restaurant on the outskirts of Ming City, and one of them invited a 21-year-old female student.
After dinner, the woman rode with Liu and others to a house on Franklin Avenue and eventually to her apartment near the university later that night.Hours later, in the early hours of August 31, classmates and friends of the woman called the police.Police arrived at the woman's apartment, where they spoke to her and Liu Qiangdong.According to the information they got from the woman that night, the police terminated the call and took Liu Qiangdong back to his hotel.Later that day, Liu Qiangdong was arrested at the University of Minnesota.
Prosecutors said a team of three men and one woman reviewed evidence, some of which included conversations and messages in Mandarin translated into English.The evidence also included video from body cameras worn by officers that captured conversations between Liu Qiangdong and the woman in his apartment, and later after the woman asked to speak with Liu privately before Liu returned to his hotelPart of a conversation between the two.
All evidence, including statements by the woman and others, and footage from multiple surveillance cameras, does not support criminal charges in this case, the release said.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office also clarified in a news release that the three-month period it takes to review a case and make a decision is not unusual for a sexual assault case, especially one in which no one is in custody.This has nothing to do with Liu's status as a wealthy foreign businessman.The county attorney's office also did not consider rumors involving Liu or the victim after the investigation was complete.He said the prosecution would not make any further comments on the case.
JD.com immediately issued a statement saying it welcomed the decision.Liu Qiangdong's attorney, Jill Brisbois, issued a statement saying that Liu Qiangdong was arrested on false charges. After fully cooperating with the investigation, the conclusion of the judiciary proved his innocence.But she also pointed out that Liu Qiangdong's reputation has been seriously damaged, and accused someone of spreading a lot of false and misleading information during the investigation.
Liu Qiangdong was arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA at 23:32 local time on August 31st on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct, and was released at 16:00 local time on September 1st after brief detention.
According to a report provided to Caixin by the U.S. police in early September, Liu’s alleged crime was graded as a felony (Felony), and the alleged crime was described as a sex crime-rape-completed (CSC ndash; Rape ndash; Completed).The legal code for this crime is F 609.342, a felony in the fifth degree of attribute crime.Minnesota law divides sexual crimes into one to five levels from serious to light according to the severity of the case and the age of the victim. Level one is the most serious. If you are formally convicted, you will be sentenced to a minimum of 12 years and a maximum of 30 years.
At around 10:00 on September 20, US Eastern Time (22:00 on the same day, Beijing time), Mike Freeman, the prosecutor of Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA, announced that the police had completed the preliminary investigation of the Liu case and handed it over to the prosecution.Prosecutors will evaluate all evidence and decide whether to charge.
Hennepin County Prosecutor’s spokesman Chuck Laszewski said in an exclusive interview with Caixin reporter on September 7 that the time required to decide whether to prosecute depends on the complexity of the case itself.Within days, no more than one week.(For details, see Caixin Report Exclusive | U.S. Prosecutors: Liu Qiangdong must attend a formal trial if he sues) Since then, the case has been pending for more than three months.
Lazewski also said that Liu Qiangdong will have to attend the case if the prosecution goes to trial.If the prosecution decides to prosecute, the information that can be disclosed is the content of the criminal complaint filed by the prosecution, and the rest of the information can only be disclosed when the trial begins; if the prosecution decides not to prosecute, that is, the case is over, then anyone canThe police can be asked to provide relevant documents.
On September 4th, US Eastern Time, the first day of trading on NASDAQ after the incident, the stock price of JD.com (NASDAQ: JD) plummeted nearly 6% to US$29.43/ADS, the biggest drop in a year, and nearly US$2.7 billion in market value evaporated.Subsequently, a number of law firms in the United States announced the investigation of JD.com and invited shareholders to join the class action.Rosen Law Firm, Pomerantz LLP, and The Schall Law Firm all stated in their statements that the decline in stock prices caused losses to investors and mentioned Liu Qiangdong's arrest in the United States on suspicion of sexual assault.(For details, see Caixin report that three U.S. law firms launched a class action investigation against JD.com)
With the media reporting more and more details on the Minnesota incident, the market is increasingly concerned about whether Liu Qiangdong can continue to serve as the chairman of JD.com.On November 19, Liu Qiangdong, who had not made a public statement for two months, spoke again at the JD Group’s third-quarter financial report, responding to the question of who can manage JD.Rest assured to the team, I will mainly focus on new business.
However, Liu's latest statement did not effectively appease the market. As of press time, JD.com's share price has lost nearly 40% of its closing price of US$31.30 on August 31, the day before the incident, and once fell to US$19.91/ADS.After checking the Bloomberg database, a reporter from Caixin also found that after September, the short position of JD.com reached a two-year high.Holds Jingdong stock.
At the end of November, news of JD's internal layoffs began to circulate, but JD.com officials immediately denied it, saying that it was a routine elimination at the bottom of the list (see Caixin JD.com's response to layoffs: normal optimization is a rumor).A former employee of JD.com told Caixin reporter that JD.com has been discussing the possible successor in private, and Xu Lei, the current rotating CEO, is considered the most likely candidate.
A professional lawyer engaged in shareholder rights litigation in the United States told Caixin reporters that according to the information disclosed in JD.com’s 20-F form submitted to the SEC, even if Liu Qiangdong is prosecuted or even convicted, there is no established requirement for him to resign.Since there are no compulsory measures stipulated by law, whether Liu Qiangdong, a key person who has experienced a reputation crisis or even faces legal risks, can continue to perform his duties depends on the resolution of the Jingdong board of directors.
The documents submitted to the SEC when JD.com went public revealed that LiuDong is the second largest shareholder of Jingdong Group, holding 15.5% of the shares, but has 79.5% of the voting rights through the AB share structure; while Tencent, as the largest shareholder of Jingdong, holds 18% of the shares and only has 4.4% of the voting rights.The board of directors of Jingdong Group currently has 5 seats, of which 3 seats are independent directors. Only Liu Qiangdong and Tencent President Liu Chiping are non-independent directors, and the company's articles of association stipulate that when Liu Qiangdong is absent, the Jingdong board of directors will not reach the quorum.unable to make effective decisions.
It is worth noting that in December, the latest Caixin data showed that the ownership structure of JD Digits (formerly JD Finance), one of JD.to the second largest shareholder.After the change, Suqian Dongtai Jinrong Investment Management Center (Limited Partnership) ranked first with a 16.13% stake, but Caixin reporters found that Liu Qiangdong was the actual controller of the Suqian company after reviewing public information.After penetrating through the equity structure of related companies, Liu Qiangdong actually holds a total of nearly 35% of the shares of JD Digits, and is still its actual controller.Regarding this recent change, BOE told the Caixin reporter that it is temporarily inconvenient to respond.
JD.com shares rose more than 5%.■
