Epoch Times CFO charged with money laundering

What happened

Weidong "Bill" Guan, chief financial officer of the right-wing Epoch Times news organization, was arrested and charged with "participating in a transnational scheme to launder at least approximately $67 million of illegally obtained funds," the Justice Department said Monday. Guan, 61, pleaded not guilty.

Who said what

Federal prosecutors said Guan laundered the money using the company's "Make Money Online" (MMO) team, channeling most of it back to The Epoch Times through "tens of thousands of layered transactions" but keeping $16.7 million for himself. While the plot "benefited" The Epoch Times, boosting its revenue about 410% in the first year, the Justice Department said, the charges "do not relate" to its "newsgathering activities."

The Epoch Times said it will "fully cooperate" with the investigation and has suspended Guan "until this matter is resolved." The newspaper "effectively functions as a propaganda wing" of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, New York Magazine said, and it also became a major booster of Donald Trump and various conspiracy theories starting in 2016.

What next?

Guan's three charges each carry maximum sentences of 20-30 years in prison.

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