Plot thickens in Kris Wu scandal: China police arrest man for impersonation and extorting money from former Exo star and his accuser

There has been a shocking twist in the long-running drama that is Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu's scandal.

According to a statement from the Beijing Public Security Bureau released yesterday (July 22), a 23-year-old man — identified only by his surname Liu — confessed to scamming Kris over a teenager's claim that the star had sex with her while she was drunk.

Liu was arrested on Sunday following investigations, after Kris' mother complained to the authorities that the family had been defrauded by Du Meizhu, Kris' 18-year-old accuser. However, the police made no mention of Du participating in the fraud.

According to the Chinese police, Liu hatched his scam after reading about Du's expose of Kris' alleged misdeeds.

Kris first gained fame as a member of the popular K-pop group Exo but has since gone solo.

Elaborate, multiple impersonations

Liu first pretended to be another female victim of Kris and contacted Du on WeChat to gain her trust in order to obtain information about her experience with Kris.

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The man then contacted Kris' lawyer, pretending to be Du's lawyer to extort money from Kris, who agreed to pay a sum of 3 million yuan ($630,000) to settle the scandal. Liu then gave his and Du's bank account numbers for the transaction.

Liu then posed as Kris' lawyer and contacted Du to persuade her to settle the scandal for 3 million yuan. However, no deal was signed.

The police statement added that Kris' mother sent 500,000 yuan to Du.

As Liu didn't manage to receive any money from his scam, he contacted Kris' lawyer to try to obtain the remaining 2.5 million yuan, but to no avail.

In the meantime, Liu pretended to be Kris' lawyer and pressured Du to sign the settlement. If not, Du would have to return the money that Kris' mother sent over.

Du agreed to return the money. Liu gave her his own bank account number, and Du transferred 180,000 yuan to Liu.

Police investigations also confirmed some allegations against Kris

Through their investigations, the police found out that Kris' manager had invited Du to Kris' home on the pretext of auditioning her for a role in his music video. The party of over 10 people played games and drank, and did not discuss work. Du and Kris had sex that night, after which she slept over in his home.

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Kris then gave Du 32,000 yuan for online shopping, and they kept in contact on WeChat for four months until April this year.

The police said Du had decided to publicly post about her relationship with Kris to boost her popularity on social media.

Du was also said to have been working with another man who drafted around 10 articles about Kris which she then posted on her Weibo.

Due to the allegations, brands in China have cut ties with Kris including Louis Vuitton, Porsche, and Bulgari. Media reports say he's lost 16 endorsements as a result of the scandal.

The police are investigating allegations of Kris deceiving young women into sexual relations.

mardhiahhaslan@asiaone.com