Chinese billionaire settles US rape allegation

Richard Liu pictured in 2014 (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Chinese billionaire and JD.com founder Richard Liu has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a former student who alleged he raped her in her apartment in the US after a night of dinner and drinks with wealthy Chinese executives in 2018, lawyers for both sides have announced.

Richard Liu, who stepped down as the chief executive of Beijing-based ecommerce company JD.com this year amid increased government scrutiny of China’s technology industry, has denied raping the woman, Jingyao Liu, and prosecutors have not filed criminal charges.