Plot “worthy of a spy thriller”
Steve Wynn, chairman and CEO of global gaming operator Wynn Resorts, has been linked to a plan to deport a Chinese businessman seeking asylum in the U.S.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Wynn personally delivered a letter from the Beijing government to President Donald Trump, asking him to send dissident Guo Wengui back to China. Wynn is heavily invested in the Chinese territory of Macau; in 2016, his properties there accounted for more than 60 percent of Wynn casino net revenues, according to the company.
The Journal called the alleged plot “worthy of a spy thriller.”
Guo, described by CNBC as one of the top 80 richest people in China, is also a member of Trump’s exclusive Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida. He fled his home country in 2014, and on April 19 China’s foreign ministry said Interpol issued a “red notice” for his arrest. Guo was called a “vocal critic of alleged government corruption in China.” But he is also under investigation for crimes including bribery and rape.
According to the Journal, in a June meeting in the Oval Office, Trump referred to Guo as a “Chinese criminal” who deserved to be immediately deported. “We need to get this criminal out of the country,” Trump said.
In May, the UK Guardian reported, a group of Chinese security officials visited Guo in New York and issued threats about critical tweets he’s sent about the government. They also reportedly tried to persuade him to return to his homeland. Guo apparently did not bend to the pressure, and in fact recorded his conversation with the Chinese officials and posted part of it online. The FBI later got involved, and ordered the Chinese agents to leave the country.
Wynn Resorts Marketing Director Michael Weaver told the Journal in a written statement, “The report regarding Mr. Wynn is false. Beyond that, he doesn’t have any comment.”
A Justice Department representative made it clear that if Wynn acted in the manner described, he was violating the law. “It is a criminal offense for an individual, other than a diplomatic or consular officer or attache, to act in the United States as an agent of a foreign power without prior notification to the attorney general,” the representative told the Journal.
