Sept. 3 (UPI) — A Chinese billionaire was arrested in Minnesota on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct, police said Sunday.
Liu Qiangdong, the chief executive of JD.com, the Chinese e-commerce giant, was arrested in Minneapolis on Friday and released pending an investigation on Saturday.
Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder said the investigation is still active but Liu hasn’t been charged with a crime.
Liu, one of China’s wealthiest men with a reported net worth of $10 billion, is free to leave the country.
“We are confident that we will be able to get in touch with him as the time becomes necessary,” Elder told the Wall Street Journal.
Liu’s company released a statement that denied he had done anything wrong.
“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 Sunday. “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.”
Liu, who also goes by the name, “Richard Liu,” is registered as a student in the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management doctor of business administration China program, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
According to the Financial Times, two people familiar with the case said it involves another Chinese student at the university.
