Chinese billionaire, CEO settles US civil rape lawsuit days before trial News
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Chinese billionaire, CEO settles US civil rape lawsuit days before trial

Billionaire founder and former CEO of JD.com Richard Liu Sunday settled a civil lawsuit against him in which he was accused of raping a University of Minnesota student in 2018. The jury trial was to begin on Monday at 8:00AM. In a joint statement, the parties said the case has “consumed substantial public attention and brought profound suffering to the parties and their families.”

Jingyao Liu sued Liu in 2019. In her complaint, Liu alleged that that, while she was in Minnesota for a weeklong residency in the University’s doctor of business administration China program, Liu groped her in a private limousine and later raped her in her apartment. The complaint accused Liu of sexual assault, battery and false imprisonment. Police arrested Liu after the incident and questioned him, but prosecutors declined to press charges.

JD.com is China’s largest online retailer and the country’s biggest internet company by revenue. Liu stepped down from his position as CEO after the lawsuit. The conditions of the settlement have not been disclosed.

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