Liu Qiangdong (Liu Qiangdong)

Liu Qiangdong (Liu Qiangdong)

Biography

2019: Charges of rape

In the middle of April, 2019 filed a lawsuit against Liu Qiangdong, having accused the founder of the second in value Chinese online retailer JD.com of rape.

The claim to the businessman of Minneapolis (USA) the student of the University of Minnesota (University of Minnesota) Liu Jingyao filed a lawsuit. The injured Chinese woman claims that Liu Qiangdong gave to drink her in August, 2019 and raped.

At the end of August, 2018 Liu Qiangdong on a charge of rape, but in several hours it was let out

Then the founder of JD.com arrived to the University of Minnesota for participation in the week program of training of specialists of management of the top skills ( Doctor of Business Administration, DBA) which was carried out especially for heads from China.

Liu Jingyao studies at the University of Minnesota by the student's visa. She voluntarily showed willingness to help with carrying out the program of advanced training of the Chinese leaders in which the founder of JD.com participated. So they also got acquainted.

Liu Jingyao says that she had supper with Liu and other employees of JD.com at the Japanese restaurant Origami in Minneapolis. The girl got by the invitation of Richard Liu, other participant of an initiative of DBA there. That told that the dinner is organized in honor of the volunteers helping to carry out the educational program. However other volunteers were not invited to a meeting, and Liu Qiangdong asked Richard Liu to call Liu Jingyao, reported in the statement of claim.

During a dinner attendees gave a toast to Liu Jingyao, forcing the girl to drink together with them. Liu Qiangdong told that she will offend him if does not drink with it. During the meeting 32 bottles of wine for the amount more than $3600 were purchased.

After Liu's dinner together with the girl went to her home. It began to stick to her in a limousine. And in the machine there were still people, they saw the events, but did not try to stop Liu. The driver of a limousine just turned off a rear-view mirror upward not to see how Liu sticks to the student against her will.

The billionaire, according to the victim, used her drunk status, attacked in the apartment and raped. The defendant was physically larger and much stronger than the claimant and used the exceeding dimensions and force to overcome and rape her, according to court.

The Chinese student filed a lawsuit against the founder of JD.com Liu Qiangdong

I begged him not to do it. But he did not listen to me — Liu Jingyao in correspondence with the friend after the incident wrote after a while.

As a result of sexual violence the girl received bodily harms  and also mental sufferings because of what she was forced to pass a study semester, reported in the claim.

Demand payment of compensation for the undermined mental and physical status of the girl from Liu Qiangdong. About what amount there is a speech, it is not specified. More than $50 thousand usually are involved in similar cases, Reuters notes. Under laws of Minnesota for rapes put in prison for a period of up to 30 years.^[1]

In December, 2018 the district prosecutor's office of Minnesota refused bringing charges to Liu Qiangdong, having explained it with "serious problems with evidential base". Then lawyers of the businessman said that arrest of the client was based on the false claim.

Afterwards Liu published in the Chinese social networks the message in which he said that he did not break laws, but his communication with the girl struck his family, especially the wife. The founder of JD.com publicly apologized to the spouse for this scandal.

In the middle of April, 2019 when this case was given a new round, the lawyer Jill Brisbois made the following statement:

We are firmly convinced that this claim does not deserve attention. We will be resolutely protected from it.

According to Brisbua, the prosecutor refused to initiate proceedings against Liu Qiangdong. It is possible that it will be made is later.

2018: Detention for sexual crime

At the end of August, 2018 Liu Qiangdong was arrested in the American State of Minnesota.  Charges of sexual crime are brought to the founder and the CEO of the large Chinese company which is engaged in Internet trade and e-commerce, JD.com, BBC reports.

Liu Qiangdong was delayed by law enforcement agencies on August 31, 2018 after the complaint in connection with the illegal acts of sexual nature which were allegedly taking place from its party came to police on him.

Less than 24 hours later after arrest of chapter  of JD.com  it was released, however the police continued investigation in connection with the arrived complaint. According to laws of Minnesota, authorities of the state should bring in 36 hours to the suspect official charges or release him. Local laws define five extents  of criminal sexual action, beginning from contactless touch before violent attack with causing an injury.

Hurried to assure of JD.com that Qiangdong was delayed on false charge, being in a business trip to the USA. Added to the companies that investigators did not confirm the offense fact from the businessman.

According to the The Wall Street Journal newspaper, in 2018 Liu tried to make so that his name was not included in the criminal case file in Australia. It was initiated in the relation of the man who allegedly raped the woman whom he met at a party in Liu's house in Sydney in 2015. Liu with respect thereto was not accused of any offenses. However, referring to possible damage which this production can cause it to business and defects, the entrepreneur tried to obtain before that investigation was conducted behind closed doors.^[2]

According to Forbes, by the end of August, 2018 Liu's fortune is estimated in $7.9 billion. In 2018 the businessman took the 140th place in the list of the richest people made by the magazine on the planet.

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