CEO Liu’s Controversy
However, the good times did not last long. The sexual assault case of Liu Qiangdong in 2018 brought their relationship back to the forefront. According to fortuned.com, Zhang Zetian’s husband faced a troubling incident when he was arrested in Minnesota, USA. This high-profile arrest resulted in Liu being taken into custody, though he was subsequently released just 16 hours later without charges or bail, permitting him to return to China. Records from Hennepin County Jail indicated that the founder and CEO of JD.com, a prominent Chinese online retail giant, was apprehended regarding the misconduct allegations late one Friday night and was set free on Saturday afternoon.
The Minneapolis Police Department refrained from disclosing specific details of the arrest or the nature of the allegations against the 45-year-old Liu, emphasizing that the investigation remained active. Underlining the situation’s complexity, public information officer John Elder stated, “The individual was arrested Friday evening and released Saturday afternoon. He was released pending formal complaint.” Notably, in the state of Minnesota, “criminal sexual conduct” encompasses a wide range of nonconsensual sexual activities. JD.com stated the Chinese social media platform Weibo, asserting that Mr. Liu’s arrest was based on false allegations during a business trip. Contrary to the information provided by US authorities, the statement maintained that authorities found no evidence of misconduct and subsequently released Mr. Liu to continue his trip.
