The finance chief of the conservative global news network Epoch Times has been arrested over his alleged involvement in a massive global money-laundering scheme.
A yearslong scheme to launder at least $67 million in illicit funds has been alleged, federal prosecutors said Monday.
According to the indictment, Bill Guan, 61, led the outlet’s “Make Money Online” team, which is accused of using cryptocurrency to purchase tens of millions worth of crime proceeds.
File/Four men armed with sledgehammers forcibly broke into and ransacked the Hong Kong printing house of the anti-communist newspaper Epoch Times on Monday, local news outlet Coconuts Hong Kong reported. (Screenshot)
Guan was arrested Sunday morning and pleaded not guilty on Monday afternoon before a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan, according to a court notice.
If convicted, the resident of Secaucus, New Jersey, could spend more than 30 years in prison, the BBC reports.
In a statement on Monday evening, the Epoch Times told the BBC it “intends to and will fully cooperate with any investigation dealing with the allegations against Mr Guan”.
“Although Mr Guan is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, the company has suspended him until this matter is resolved,” the news outlet said.
It did not respond to specific questions about the Make Money Online team referenced by prosecutors.
Founded in 2000, the Epoch Times began as a small, low-budget anti-Communist newspaper handed out for free in New York and has since grown to establish a global footprint.