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April 25, 2018

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Fugitive ‘used brothers to forge papers’

Source: Xinhua | 00:01 UTC+8 April 25, 2018 | Print Edition

MORE details have been revealed on the case of Guo Wengui, one of China’s most wanted fugitives.

Guo allegedly instructed and instigated twin brothers Chen Zhiyu and Chen Zhiheng to forge official state documents to mislead the public, officials from Chongqing Public Security Bureau in southwest China said at a news briefing on Monday.

It has been proven that the so-called “confidential documents” of the government, disseminated by Guo and the Washington Free Beacon, an American political journalism website, were all forged by Guo and the Chen brothers, officials said.

On October 5, Guo made public in Washington a so-called “confidential document of the Chinese government” with the self-proclaimed verification of the US government, featuring China’s “working plan of secretly dispatching 27 police officers” to the US on field duty in 2017.

On January 2, the Washington Free Beacon published another such document, featuring China’s “decision on conducting communication and coordination work” between China and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to further a solution to the nuclear issue.

Both documents had the media buzzing, with even the US Department of State commenting on the matter.

Chongqing police found that since August, Guo has been in league with the Chens, instigating them to forge more than 30 official documents in the name of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the State Council, and related ministries and commissions, before spreading the documents overseas.

Guo and the Chens have also fabricated information claiming that a number of central and provincial government officials had illegitimate children, houses, mistresses and large bank deposits abroad, according to the investigation.

On February 18, Chongqing police arrested the Chens and confiscated related items. Both suspects confessed to their crime, police said.

Police also discovered a large number of forged official documents of state organs in the suspects’ computers and hard drives, involving areas such as China’s national defense, diplomacy and financial policies. They found fabricated files of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The brothers admitted their criminal actions were mainly motivated by profit, police said.

“I have a child with autism, whose treatment can barely be sustained with my limited income,” said Chen Zhiyu. “So I forged the paperwork for Guo.”

He and Chen Zhiheng started forging official documents and selling them to overseas institutions in 2013. Chen Zhiyu went to reside in Canada in 2012, four years after his brother became a Canadian citizen.

Last May, they saw information from Guo offering a reward for “confidential documents” of the Chinese government, and were immediately lured, resulting in Chen Zhiyu’s contact with Guo.

At Guo’s request, Chen Zhiyu traveled to the US to meet him and his assistant on four occasions. The records of their chats were found on Chen’s personal computer and mobile phone, which were confiscated by police.

“Money is not a problem, for sure. I will give you US$4,000 per month and you don’t need to worry about it,” Guo told Chen, as shown in the chat records.

Guo is also said to have promised the twins a foundation of US$50 million. The brothers confessed that Guo not only knew everything about their official document forgeries, but also gave them advice on how to modify the forged documents.

Both skillful forgers, the brothers had a clear division of work. Chen Zhiyu did the drafting, editing and dissemination of finished documents, while his brother forged the “red headings” and official seals, as well as looking for underground channels to transfer the documents.

Police have taken coercive measures against the Chen brothers, which may include summons by force, bail, residential surveillance, detention or arrest.

Police will work with US law enforcement to further investigate the case of Guo, who falsely claimed the forged documents were verified by American government institutions.

Nation


 

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