Kris Wu jailed in China for sex crimes, fined US$84m for tax evasion
- Tax office drops bombshell fine just after the Chinese-Canadian rap star is sentenced to 13 years in jail
- Canadian officials attended the court, which ruled Wu will be deported after serving his sentence, the Beijing court has ruled
The Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing handed down the sentence for rape and “group lewdness” and ruled the 32-year-old Chinese-Canadian hip-hop star will be deported from China after serving his time.
Wu was found guilty of forcing three women to have sex with him in late 2020, while they were under the influence of alcohol and unable to resist. He was also found guilty of taking part in arranging “lewd activities” at his home in 2018, involving two women and alcohol.
Less than two hours later, local taxation authorities in Beijing announced on their website that Wu had evaded paying 95 million yuan (US$13.3 million) in tax between 2019 and 2020 by making false declarations and using businesses based in mainland China to hide his personal income.
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Kris Wu sentenced to 13 years in prison for sex crimes in China
The tax office also found that Wu had failed to pay 84 million yuan (US$11.7 million) in taxes. The fine included fees for late payment as well as the missing payments, it said.
“The Beijing Municipal Tax Service’s second inspection bureau has sent Wu Yifan the decision for the administrative fine according to law.”
The tax evasion investigation was complex, because authorities had to look into large transactions and companies located outside and inside mainland China, it said.
Separately, in a session of the Chaoyang District People’s Court attended by officials from the Canadian embassy in Beijing, Wu was given an 11½-year prison term for the count of rape, with another year and 10 months behind bars for “group lewdness”.
Police started an investigation after accusations were floated online that Wu lured young women into having sex with him. One high-profile accuser, Chinese beauty influencer Du Meizhu, said on social media platform Weibo that he had committed date rape and was seeking out underage girls.
Du also told Chinese web portal NetEase that she was invited to Wu’s home when she was 17 and forced to have alcohol and sex with him.
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“The stories of some girls who contacted me were shocking. I can’t deny that I now want to rip off Wu’s mask and not let anyone else be harmed,” she said. “I hope I can be the last victim.”
“Justice was late, but at least it’s here,” Du wrote on Weibo after the sentencing. “I am very thankful for China’s legal system, because it does not spare any criminals, even if they are a megastar.”
Wu’s production company and lawyers denied the allegations, and Wu told his 52 million Weibo followers that there was no underage sex. “If there is behaviour of this kind, rest assured everyone, I will walk into the prison myself.”
Wu was detained last year on suspicion of rape by police, who found that he had lied about his relationship with Du. Police said Wu’s agent asked Du to go to his home on the pretext of making her appear in a music video and that more than 10 people played games and drank that night.
The tax office issued a statement in response to questions from reporters that said it had opened its investigation into Wu as part of its constant “stepping up of everyday supervision”.
“Beijing municipal tax authority attaches great importance to culture and entertainment and will continue to strengthen tax supervision of the sector.”
The tax office said Wu used his Canadian nationality and popularity to ask companies to pay for work he had done in mainland China through foreign firms, disguising his domestic income.
“Compared to other publicly known tax evasion or avoidance cases, the case of Wu Yifan involved stealthier methods, which seriously harmed our nation’s tax sovereignty.”
Last year’s rape allegations halted Wu’s meteoric rise as one of China’s biggest stars and effectively removed him from public view. A jail sentence of more than a decade and hefty fines are likely to put the final nail in the coffin for his career in China.
Wu rose to fame as a member of K-pop group Exo and their subgroup Exo-M, which focused on Mandopop and the Chinese market. He spent five years as a trainee of K-pop giant SM Entertainment, which managed the boy band, after his audition in Vancouver in 2007.
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Despite Exo’s success in South Korea and China, Wu stopped engaging with the group only two years after its debut. He was sued by SM Entertainment, which said the idol had breached his contract with some of his solo promotional activities.
Wu made a counterclaim, saying the firm neglected his health and that he was not treated fairly as an Exo member.
After leaving Exo in 2016, Wu launched a successful solo career, appearing on Chinese variety shows. He was signed by record giant Universal Music Group and acted as an ambassador for major luxury brands including Louis Vuitton, Lancome, Porsche and Bulgari.
All dropped him after the rape allegations emerged.
Wu was born in the southern Chinese metropolis Guangzhou and moved to Canada when he was 10.
