1) Wall Street Journal's @BrianSpegele has an important story about criminal and other investigations involving #MilesGuo (Guo Wengui) and Steve Bannon. Excerpts follow. wsj.com/articles/fundr…
2) "A media company linked to former Trump political adviser Steve Bannon and exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui [aka #MilesGuo] raised more than $300 million in a private offering this spring that is now being investigated by federal and state authorities," WSJ reports.
3) "JPMorgan Chase & Co and Wells Fargo & Co have frozen accounts tied to fundraising for the company, GTV Media Group, some of these people said. Bank of America Corp. also closed an account for GTV Media’s parent company shortly after it was opened in recent months," WSJ says.
4) FBI and Securities & Exchange Commission are conducting federal probes about "whether GTV Media or associates of Mr. Guo violated securities laws through the private share placement. The New York state attorney general’s office has also been examining the matter," WSJ says.
5) "Soon after the fundraising, some investors began pushing for refunds after they said they never received official documentation verifying their investments in GTV Media, among other issues that led them to distrust Mr. Guo," WSJ reports. #MilesGuo
6) "Guo and Bannon joined forces in the last few years as tough critics of China’s Communist Party, and recently have been spending significant time together on Mr. Guo’s yacht, according to videos posted on a website affiliated with Mr. Guo." #MilesGuo #GuoWengui
7) Silence from Guo and Bannon: "A representative for Mr. Guo didn’t provide comment, and Mr. Bannon declined to comment," the Wall Street Journal reports. #MilesGuo #GuoWengui
8) "The FBI had been examining Mr. Guo’s work with Mr. Bannon even before the private placement this spring." WSJ "reported last month that FBI agents had been investigating Mr. Guo and the money he used to fund his media efforts in the U.S. for more than six months ..."
9) "... and that prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s offices in Manhattan and Brooklyn had been involved in the probe." #MilesGuo #GuoWengui
10) "The company [GTV Media] identified Mr. Bannon as one of several prominent directors. Others included hedge-fund manager and China critic Kyle Bass, Texas venture capitalist Darren Blanton and John. A. Morgan, the son of Morgan Stanley’s co-founder," WSJ reports.
11) WSJ calls #GuoWengui a divisive element among anti-CCP people, at a time when the CCP is weakening:
"As U.S.-China relations have soured, Guo Wengui has proven divisive among U.S. critics of China."
"As U.S.-China relations have soured, Guo Wengui has proven divisive among U.S. critics of China."
12) "SEC investigators have been reaching out to conduct interviews with investors who are now pushing GTV Media or Voice of Guo Media to refund their money and are lodging complaints about Mr. Guo and his associates," WSJ reports. #MilesGuo #GuoWengui
13) "The Journal reviewed documentation from investors including copies of bank transfers, shareholder agreements and text messages," WSJ reports. #GuoWengui #MilesGuo
14) "As U.S.-China relations have soured during the Trump administration, Mr. Guo has proven divisive among U.S. critics of China. Some such as Mr. Bannon have aligned themselves with Mr. Guo, while others say they distrust him," WSJ reports. #GuoWengui #MilesGuo
15) "Some have openly questioned Mr. Guo’s loyalty to the U.S. In 2018, a company affiliated with Mr. Guo hired Virginia-based research firm Strategic Vision to investigate individuals Mr. Guo said were tied to top Chinese Communist Party officials..."
16) "... Strategic Vision had issues with the request and accused Mr. Guo of being a 'dissident-hunter' for China." jmichaelwaller.com/2019/07/24/dis…
17) "A New York state court ... dismissed a lawsuit filed by Mr. Guo against Dow Jones & Co., publisher of the Journal, [and @JMichaelWaller etc] over its reporting about the litigation between Strategic Vision and the Guo-linked entity. Mr. Guo has indicated he plans to appeal."
