Wanted Chinese tycoon seeks US political asylum

Team Udayavani, Sep 8, 2017, 10:18 AM IST

Beijing : Chinese real estate tycoon Guo Wengui, one of the Communist Party’s most wanted exiles, has applied for political asylum in the United States. Guo’s lawyer, Thomas Ragland, said today the billionaire filed an application for asylum and can stay in the US while it is under review.

The request poses a diplomatic quandary for the Trump administration, which must decide whether to expel a high- profile Chinese dissident or risk infuriating Beijing. Chinese officials told the AP in August that Guo is being investigated in at least 19 major criminal cases that involve bribery, kidnapping, fraud, money laundering and rape. Guo has denied the allegations.

Above all, Guo has attracted Beijing’s ire by unleashing numerous allegations of high-level corruption within the Communist Party that have rocked Chinese politics this year.