Kris Wu fined $84 million for tax evasion after being sentenced to 13 years in prison for sex crimes
Chinese Canadian actor and singer Kris Wu was fined nearly $84 million for tax evasion less than two hours after he was sentenced to 13 years in prison for rape on Friday.
The 32-year-old singer, whose real name is Wu Yifan, was ordered to pay 600 million yuan (approximately $83.6 million) by the Beijing Municipal Tax Service for hiding personal income and other tax-related offenses.
Local taxation authorities in Beijing said Wu hid his income through domestic and foreign affiliated enterprises, evading 95 million yuan (approximately $13.2 million) worth of taxes from 2019 to 2020.
According to the tax office, Wu also failed to pay 84 million yuan (approximately $11.7 million) in taxes.
“The Beijing Municipal Tax Service’s second inspection bureau has sent Wu Yifan the decision for the administrative fine according to law,” the tax office said, according to the South China Morning Post.
The fine was ordered less than two hours after Wu was sentenced to jail for raping three women from November to December 2020.
Chinese influencer Du Meizhu first accused Wu of luring girls under the age of 18 into sex under the pretense that they would be recruited as actors. On July 8, 2021, Du claimed Wu raped her when she was 17 years old, along with two other minors.
“Wu Yifan took advantage of three drunken women … at his home,” the Chaoyang District People’s Court said on its official WeChat account.
The Chinese court stated that the singer raped the women at his residence while they were intoxicated and unable to resist.
Wu was also found guilty of “assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity” in July 18, 2018, in an incident at his residence involving two women and alcohol.
Wu was convicted on two charges, including rape and assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities. He was sentenced to 11.5 years and 22 months, respectively, before the court decided on a fixed term of 13 years.
“Justice was late, but at least it’s here,” Du reportedly wrote on Weibo following Wu’s sentencing. “I am very thankful for China’s legal system, because it does not spare any criminals, even if they are a megastar.”
Wu, who was born in Guangzhou, China, rose to fame as a member of the K-pop group EXO. In 2014, he left the group and started a solo career in China.
Following the scandal, several brands, including L’Oréal, Porsche and Vattie, immediately severed their ties with Wu.
Amid the high-profile case in August 2021, China’s National Radio and Television Administration hosted a two-day “ethical training session” for 64 Chinese celebrities and talents. The participants included “The First Half of My Life” actor Lei Jiayin and former child star Zhang Yishan.
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