The billionaire head of one of China’s top e-commerce sites who was arrested over the weekend in Minnesota is under investigation following an…
The billionaire head of one of China’s top e-commerce sites who was arrested over the weekend in Minnesota is under investigation following an accusation of felony rape in the Midwestern state, according to a Minneapolis Police report.
No charges have been filed against Liu Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu, who is the founder of the Beijing-based online shopping platform JD.com, a rival to Alibaba.com. The Minneapolis police report did not provide details of the alleged incident leading to Friday’s arrest.
« We are putting resources to the investigation and our concern is to provide services to the complainant and to ensure that we’re protecting the rights of Mr Liu, » John Elder, a police department spokesman, told the South China Morning Post.
Liu, 45, was reportedly back in China by Monday and had returned to JD.com headquarters Tuesday morning. The company issued a statement saying that Liu had been falsely accused and that police found no misconduct.
Joseph Freiberg, a Minneapolis-based attorney apparently representing Liu, told The Minneapolis Star Tribune that he did not expect further developments in the case and said police had not seized Liu’s passport.
« Mr. Liu didn’t do anything wrong, and the police have released him without any restrictions, » Friedberg told the Star, adding, « I would bet my [law] license that he’s not going to be charged.
