Liu Zhongtian, a China-based billionaire, has been arraigned in the US on charges of evading about $1.8 billion in tariffs on exports of aluminum associated products. He is currently facing accusations of smuggling substantial amounts of metal into the USA with the help of an aluminum company that he founded in 1993.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the legal authorities have issued a warrant for the arrest of Liu Zhongtian. However, Liu Zhongtian’s firm, China Zhongwang Holdings, hasn’t released any official statement regarding the ongoing mishappenings with its founder.
According to the media reports, Liu is presently residing in China, which doesn’t have any kind of extradition treaty with the US.
Liu, along with his firm, China Zhongwang Holdings, has also been charged with other crimes such as conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering apart from evading tariffs on aluminum exports. Prosecutors are alleging that this massive tariff evasion was carried out by putting together a highly sophisticated financial fraud scheme which disguised aluminum as pallets that are not subjected to customs duties.
His trial is one of the most enormous tariff-affiliated crime cases to be taken to court by the United State’s Justice Department and emerges at a time when US-China relations in terms of taxes is already seriously ruined.
As per Forbes Magazine, Liu Zhongtian and his entire family are estimated to have a net worth of around $2.8 billion. Almost all of the crimes that Liu Zhongtian has been charged with carries a prison sentence of 20 years.