150-foot luxe superyacht, $134 mn fine & bankruptcy: How a $37 mn wire transfer is keeping an exiled Chinese businessman away from jail

[Nan Yang]

150-foot luxe superyacht, $134 mn fine & bankruptcy: How a $37 mn wire transfer is keeping an exiled Chinese businessman away from jail​

The luxury motor yacht was built by Feadship in 2014. With a beam of 9 m and a draft of 2.2 m, she has an aluminum hull and aluminum superstructure.

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Synopsis​

'Lady May', a 151-foot aluminum yacht is the centerpiece of Gua's financial battle.​

By ET Online
Last Updated: Apr 25, 2022, 05:23 PM IST

Life story of exiled Chinese businessman Guo Wengui is nothing less than a thriller drama. From seeking asylum in the US in 2017 after leaving China to filing for bankruptcy, Wengue has kept the international media busy.

However, there's now another twist to the story. According to a report in Bloomberg, the exiled businessman's infamous yacht has burned another hole in his pocket.

'Lady May', a 151-foot aluminum luxurious superyacht is the centerpiece of Gua's financial battle. The yacht led Guo to bankruptcy after a New York court earlier this month ordered the exiled businessman to pay $134 million in fine for moving and keeping the yacht out of reach of US creditor, and asked him to bring the vessel back to the US waters.

The luxury motor yacht was built by Feadship in 2014. With a beam of 9 m and a draft of 2.2 m, she has an aluminum hull and aluminum superstructure.

In 2008, Guo had borrowed $30 million from the lender as a loan which the latter alleges was never repaid. His creditors are seeking to collect over $100 million for the original loan plus unpaid interest and are particularly interested on acquiring the boat, 'Lady May'.

It will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and take months to get 'Lady May' back in the US since it will be carried on a freighter as it can't sail across the ocean.

Now the legal drama has gotten murkier and more twisted. A $37 million wire transfer apparently has come to Guo's rescue to save him from imprisonment.

Here's the deal: After the New York court imposed $134 million fine earlier this year, Guo filed for bankruptcy in February, saying he can't pay the fine, hoping to get a breather from this financial struggle.

But that did not save him in this legal trouble, as a federal judge on Wednesday considered exposing Guo to potential jail time by letting the contempt order by the New York court take effect. Then a $37 million wire transfer was promised to serve as a substitute for a 150-foot luxury yacht, saving him from the jail.

While Guo continues to insist that he does not own or control the yacht -- an entity owned by Guo's daughter, has offered to wire $37 million to a neutral third party as a substitute while the boat returns to the US waters.

What started as Guo's move to save his prestigious yacht from the hands of lenders chasing him to get their loan paid, became the main character of the legal drama.

It is also important to note that 'Lady May' is also the same yacht Steve Bannon, a former Donald Trump political strategist and alley of Goa, was arrested on in 2020 on unrelated federal charges.

There's no doubt this whole drama could be turned into a thriller series as there seems to be more to be followed.