Category: tax evasion

Indian Court Refuses to Unfreeze Assets of Chinese Smartphone Maker Xiaomi

On Oct. 6, an Indian High Court declined to lift a freeze on $676 million of Xiaomi’s assets, dealing a blow to the company’s operations in India. The company, the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer, said the court’s move had “effectively halted” its operations in the Indian market, according to a Reuters report. The move comes…


Chinese Influencer Fined $16 Million for Tax Evasion, as the Regime Tightens Control of Livestreaming Industry

China fined a top social media influencer $16 million for tax evasion. It’s the regime’s latest punishment of the country’s top online personalties and part of its nationwide crackdown on the livestreaming industry. On June 16, Fuzhou Municipal Taxation Bureau of Jiangxi Province announced online that it ordered Xu Guohao to pay 108 million yuan…


Ex-San Diego Resident Arrested in Costa Rica After Alleged Flight From US for 21 Years

SAN DIEGO—A former San Diego resident who allegedly fled the United States more than 20 years ago to avoid being sentenced for tax crimes has been arrested, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on May 4. Federal authorities say Robin McPherson was apprehended and deported from Costa Rica so that he could be sentenced…


China Shines Regulatory Spotlight on Livestream Retail Boom, Crackdown Claims Biggest Star

BEIJING/SHANGHAI—China’s “common prosperity” crackdown has turned a harsh spotlight on the country’s massive livestream e-commerce business—underlining the fragility of a surging sales channel that some of the world’s biggest brands have come to rely on. More than 100 million followers of Viya, dubbed the country’s “queen of livestreaming” by the Chinese media and public, awoke…


China Fines Top Top Influencer $210 Million for Tax Evasion

China’s tax authorities slapped a record 1.34 billion yuan ($210.16 million) on the country’s top livestreamer for tax evasion on Dec. 20, stepping up efforts to bring its online streaming commerce industry to heel. Huang Wei, known as Viya, was accused of hiding personal income and other offenses in 2019 and 2020, according to the tax bureau in Hangzhou, a city in…


China Fines Top Influencer $210 Million for Tax Evasion

China’s tax authorities slapped a record 1.34 billion yuan ($210.16 million) on the country’s top livestreamer for tax evasion on Dec. 20, stepping up efforts to bring its online streaming commerce industry to heel. Huang Wei, known as Viya, was accused of hiding personal income and other offenses in 2019 and 2020, according to the tax bureau in Hangzhou, a city in…


China Fines Two Livestreamers $14.6 Million for Tax Evasion

Chinese authorities fined two top livestreamers a total of $14.6 million for income tax evasion, foreshadowing more scrutiny of the booming sector in the e-commerce industry. In Hangzhou, the capital city of e-commerce hub Zhejiang Province, Zhu Chenhui was fined $10.3 million, and Lin Shanshan was fined $4.3 million. Both livestreamers failed to report personal…


Chauvin, Ex-Wife Plead Not Guilty to Tax Evasion Charges

MINNEAPOLIS—A judge entered not guilty pleas on tax evasion charges Friday on behalf of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murder in George Floyd’s death, and for the officer’s ex-wife. Washington County District Judge Sheridan Hawley also set the next court date in the case for Jan. 21. A trial date has…


Head of Largest California Union Arrested on Charges of Grand Theft, Tax Fraud

SAN FRANCISCO—The head of California’s largest union was arrested on Friday, a day after the well-known activist was charged with grand theft and tax fraud. Alma Hernandez, the executive director of SEIU California, and her husband Jose Moscoso were charged on Thursday with allegedly underreporting some $1.4 million of income between the 2014 and 2018…


Senior Manager of Russia’s Novatek Arrested in US on Tax Charges

MOSCOW—Mark Gyetvay, a deputy head of Russian natural gas producer Novatek, has been arrested in the United States on tax charges related to $93 million hidden in offshore accounts, the Department of Justice said on Thursday. It said a federal grand jury in Fort Myers, Florida, returned an indictment on Wednesday charging Gyetvay, a Florida…