Fugitive Chinese billionaire saved from deportation by Mar-a-Lago membership may be a communist spy: report

On Tuesday, the Miami Heraldreported that Guo Wengui, the Chinese billionaire and "dissident" who was saved from deportation in the United States after President Donald Trump discovered he had a membership at his Mar-a-Lago country club, has been accused in court filings of being a spy for the Chinese government.

Wengui, who made his fortune in the real estate sector, has long claimed to be a critic of the Chinese regime, and is seeking asylum in the United States as he is wanted on charges of bribery and sexual assault — charges he claims are fabricated. But documents from a civil case in a New York federal court, first picked up by the Wall Street Journal, assert that Wengui “was, and is, a dissident-hunter, propagandist, and agent in the service of the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party."

Trump has frequently faced criticism over the fact that patrons of Mar-a-Lago, who pay $200,000 a year for their membership, have unseemly access to the president and the potential for political favors. There have also been security incidents at the facility, with a separate Chinese national caught smuggling in flash drives and surveillance equipment back in March.