Foreign News Chinese tycoon sentenced to 30 years in US jail Published 19 hours agoon 2026/06/30 Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, or Miles Guo, in 2018 (BBC) Guo Wengui, who was once believed to be one of China’s richest businessmen, has been sentenced to 30 years in jail in the…
Foreign News Chinese tycoon sentenced to 30 years in US jail
Published 19 hours agoon 2026/06/30
Chinese businessman Guo Wengui, or Miles Guo, in 2018 (BBC) Guo Wengui, who was once believed to be one of China’s richest businessmen, has been sentenced to 30 years in jail in the US for running a billion dollar scam.
The former property tycoon fled China to the US in 2017, where he reinvented himself as a Communist Party critic and built a loyal online following.
But Guo was later convicted on charges of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.
New York court judge Analisa Torres said Guo had “preyed on those seeking to bring democracy to China”, taking their money to fund his lavish lifestyle.
The BBC has contacted Guo’s representatives for comment.
Guo – who goes by several names, including Miles Guo and Ho Wan Kwok – was sentenced in a courtroom packed with his supporters.
US attorney Sean S Buckley told the BBC: “Rather than being satisfied with the many legitimate opportunities afforded to him, Guo exploited the trust that thousands had placed in him for his own greed.”
“Today’s sentence shows that fame and wealth do not place you above the law, and that fraudsters who victimise families to enrich themselves will be met with significant consequences,” Buckley said.
Before fleeing China, Guo built a fortune as a property developer and had good ties with the country’s government.
But he sought asylum in the US after being accused by top Chinese officials of corruption.
Guo became a critic of China’s Communist regime and cultivated a wide online following among the Chinese community in the US.
Prosecutors said Guo raised more than $1bn (£760m) from online followers, who joined him in investment and cryptocurrency schemes between 2018 and 2023.
The money he raised was used to fund Guo’s lavish lifestyle which included a 50,000 square foot mansion, a $1m Lamborghini and a $37m yacht, they said.
Guo denied the allegations, saying the funds were used for his political activism.
He had built ties with other China critics, including Steve Bannon, a former adviser to US President Donald Trump.
Bannon and Guo often appeared in online videos and, in 2020, launched a campaign called the New Federal State of China, with the goal of overthrowing the Chinese Communist Party.
Later that year, Bannon was arrested on Guo’s yacht in Connecticut. Bannon was charged in an unrelated case with fraud in an alleged scheme to defraud people who funded a not-for-profit company to build a US-Mexico border wall.
Bannon entered a guilty plea in a Manhattan court to a first degree scheme to defraud charge and received a sentence of conditional discharge for three years.
He also faced federal charges over the wall campaign after he was indicted by a federal grand jury, but the prosecution came to a halt after Trump pardoned him 8n the final hours of his first White House term. (BBC)
Foreign News Marco Rubio meets Libyan commander as US pushes to resolve Libya crisis
Published 1 day agoon 2026/06/30
The deputy commander of the self-styled Libyan National Army, Saddam Haftar, has visited several countries over the past weeks [File: Aljazeera] US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met a top official from the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), which backs the government in eastern Libya and is competing for power with the internationally recognised authorities in the capital, Tripoli. The talks between Rubio and Deputy Commander Saddam Haftar on Monday come amid Washington’s deepening involvement in attempting to resolve the political crisis in the North African country. The US State Department, in a statement, said Rubio and Haftar “discussed ongoing Libyan-led efforts to unify the country’s military, economic, and political institutions” and the “possible avenues for cooperation to advance unity and peace in Libya”. “The Secretary expressed appreciation for the efforts of Libyan leaders to overcome divisions and move toward unity,” the statement added. “The United States will remain at the forefront of diplomatic efforts to support Libyan unity and create the conditions for a democratically elected government able to lead Libya forward.” In April, the US helped broker an agreement for unified spending between the two competing governments in Libya. The deal covered wages for public sector employees and the National Oil Corporation. The US is also pushing to establish military cooperation between the governments in eastern and western Libya. Last year, forces loyal to both governments participated in joint drills with the US military in the central coastal city of Sirte. Libya descended into chaos and civil strife after a NATO-backed armed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The current fractured governance traces back to 2014, when Libyans elected a new legislative body, dubbed the House of Representatives, with a low turnout amid clashes between armed groups. A top court in Tripoli declared the House of Representatives, which had moved to eastern Libya after armed groups took over Tripoli, invalid. But the legislative body did not dissolve. Instead, it backed a rival government in the east, which was then supported by the LNA, formed by Khalifa Haftar, Saddam’s father. The older Haftar had served as a senior officer in the Libyan army under Gaddafi, but he defected and moved to the US in 1990 after he was captured by Chadian forces during fighting between Chad and Libya. He has been the de facto ruler of eastern Libya since his LNA consolidated power in the region after 2016. In 2019, the LNA mounted a campaign to capture Tripoli. It reached the capital, but its gains were quickly rolled back by forces loyal to the internationally recognised government. A ceasefire between the two sides was reached in 2020, but the country remained divided between the two governments and clashes continued to regularly break out across Libya. Saddam Haftar, who is the heir apparent to lead the LNA after his father, has been meeting with top officials across the region and the world in recent weeks, including Egypt’s defence minister and French President Emmanuel Macron. The administration of US President Donald Trump has deepened Washington’s diplomatic efforts in the oil-rich North African country, with White House adviser Massad Boulos leading an initiative to unify the two competing governments. Boulos told Al Hadath TV on Friday that the Libyan sides would be invited to Washington, DC, to sign a final agreement in the presence of Trump, should one be reached. “The United States will continue its efforts to support the Libyan people, who have suffered 15 years of war and division,” Boulos said in a social media post. [Aljazeera]
Foreign News Keiko Fujimori leads in Peruvian presidential race as vote count concludes
Published 1 day agoon 2026/06/30
Peru's presidential candidate Keiko Fujimori speaks at her campaign headquarters in Lima, Peru, on June 24, 2026 [Aljazeera] Right-wing candidate Keiko Fujimori is ahead in Peru’s presidential race as the country’s electoral authorities concluded their tally of the vote count after a contentious run-off, which her leftist rival has refused to recognise. Fujimori said on Monday that she would continue to wait for an official announcement from Peru’s National Jury of Elections (JNE) after the ONPE electoral authority finished a review of contested ballots. “We are getting closer and closer to embarking on a path of order and hope for all Peruvians,” Fujimori said in a social media post. Fujimori, the daughter of the late former President Alberto Fujimori – who was jailed for human rights abuses – has pledged to “unite the country” after the final tally showed her beating leftist rival Robeto Sanchez by 50.13 percent to his 49.86 percent, with 100 percent of the votes counted. The JNE is scheduled to officially announce a winner on July 3, following a drawn-out vote count that has lasted for weeks. But the results of the June 7 run-off are unlikely to bring an end to Peru’s years of political crisis, which have seen nine presidents take office in just 10 years before being voted out or removed from their post. Sanchez has refused to recognise the results of the election, which he has said was marred by irregularities and fraud. He has not provided evidence for those claims, but has called for protests to “defend the vote” and said he will file a legal challenge to appeal the official proclamation. Such claims have become common in Peru, whose political system has become increasingly chaotic amid declining voter trust in elections and government institutions in recent years. [Aljazeera]