BEIJING - China's foreign ministry says it is looking into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of e-commerce billionaire Liu Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu, in the U.S. on suspicion of criminal sexual conduct.
Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news conference on Monday that the Chinese Consulate in Chicago was "closely following the relevant situation" and trying to verify facts regarding the situation.
Hennepin County Jail records show Liu was arrested late Friday night and released Saturday afternoon pending possible criminal charges. The jail records don't provide details of the alleged incident.
Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder said Sunday that he couldn't provide any details because the investigation is considered active. He declined to say where in the city Liu was arrested or what he was accused of doing.
Lui Qiangdong, also known as Richard Liu, is the founder of the Beijing-based e-commerce site JD.com, the main rival to Alibaba Group.
JD.com said in a statement on the Chinese social media site Weibo that Liu was falsely accused while in the U.S. on a business trip, that police investigators found no misconduct and that he would continue his journey as planned.
