JD.com founder Richard Liu returns to China following arrest in the US
Chinese tech billionaire was detained briefly by Minneapolis police over alleged sexual misconduct
JD.com confirmed that Liu was taken into custody by the Minneapolis police on August 31, the Beijing-based company said in a statement on Monday. It said Liu was released without any charges and without requirement for bail.
Nasdaq-listed JD.com and Liu, one of China’s most famous tech titans, were among the hottest topics on Weibo following reports of that incident.
How Weibo became China’s most popular blogging platform
Liu, the chairman and chief executive of JD.com, was brought in at 11:32pm on August 31 and released the next day at 4:05pm on probable cause for criminal sexual conduct, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s arrest record. In Minnesota, the term covers a range of non-consensual sexual contact.
China’s foreign ministry said on Monday that the country’s consulate in Chicago was looking into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Liu.
The investigation of Liu is ongoing, according to the Minneapolis Police Department. The police, however, did not impose any travel restrictions on Liu, who was in the US to attend the residency component of a business-education programme run by the University of Minnesota.
