The CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, Richard Liu, was arrested in Minnesota during the weekend on suspicion of committing rape, a first-degree felony that would carry a prison sentence of up to 30 years if the billionaire were convicted, the South China Morning Post reports.
No charge has yet been filed against Liu as the Minneapolis Police Department is still investigating the incident, and the CEO has returned to lead his business in Beijing.
JD.com’s shares plunged to their lowest level in nearly two years following the revelation, and the company’s stock price is down 30% for the year.
A conviction for Liu would be doubly damaging for JD.com due to the company’s peculiar operating structure, common among Chinese tech companies listed overseas, which has Liu as both CEO and chairman, meaning that he has no immediate successor.
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