The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a civil lawsuit against Wynn Resorts founder Steve Wynn alleging he acted as an agent of the Chinese government by making requests on its behalf to Donald Trump when Trump was President.
According to a report by The New York Times, the DOJ’s lawsuit claims Wynn asked Trump, at the behest of China, to deport a Chinese national who was seeking asylum in the United States. Businessman Guo Wengui fled to the US in 2014 after being accused of bribery and sexual assault.
The lawsuit is seeking to force Wynn to register as an agent of the Chinese government under the Foreign Agents Registration Act after he refused to do so on three separate occasions in 2018, 2021 and 2022.
“The filing of this suit — the first affirmative civil lawsuit under FARA in more than three decades — demonstrates the department’s commitment to ensuring transparency in our democratic system,” said Matthew G Olsen, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s national security division.
“Where a foreign government uses an American as its agent to influence policy decisions in the United States, FARA gives the American people a right to know.”
Wynn, now aged 80, stepped down as Chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts in early 2018 over sexual misconduct allegations and sold off his entire 12.1% stake in the company.
Aside from its US assets, Wynn Resorts operates two integrated resorts in Macau, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace, under its majority-owned subsidiary, Wynn Macau Ltd.
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