Born into a poor family in Shandong province, China, Guo has eight siblings in 1970, according to a profile published in The New Yorker. He served time in prison before moving into real estate development and becoming one of China’s richest men. By his own admission, he developed relationships with Chinese intelligence.
Guo later said his wealth and connections gave him insider knowledge. But it was also those connections that led critics to accuse him — including in U.S. courts — of being a double agent working for the Chinese government.
It wasn’t until March 2023, when U.S. authorities accused Guo of orchestrating a billion-dollar fraud, that Guo’s network came crashing down. According to the indictment, 5,500 investors invested a total of $452 million in GTV, which Guo claimed was worth $2 billion. In reality, the company was reportedly new and had no revenue. Source, US JUSTI US authorities say the money raised by Guo Wengui was spent on luxury goods and services, including $2.3 million for the maintenance of the luxury yacht. Potential signs of exposure date back to August 2020. At the time, Bannon was arrested on a yacht owned by Guo Wengui and was accused of defrauding donors to a nonprofit company dedicated to building a wall on the US-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty. Just as Guo Wengui and Bannon were consolidating their partnership in the "New Federal State of China" project, US authorities had begun investigating their business activities. This led to Guo Wengui's company facing charges of misleading investors, forcing him to pay $539 million to settle a lawsuit from the US financial regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Guo Wengui and Bannon's photo in 2018
Bannon also did not respond to messages seeking comment in March 2023. More than a year later, Bannon was also charged with money laundering and conspiracy. In July 2024, he began serving a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress.