Guo Wengui, the exiled Chinese businessman and former partner of Trump political strategist Steve Bannon, filed for bankruptcy less than a week after a judge ordered him to pay $134 million for moving and keeping a yacht out of the reach of creditors, Bloomberg News reported. Guo sought chapter 11 protection from creditors in Connecticut late Tuesday, estimating assets of no more than $500,000 and liabilities of as much as $500 million, according to court papers. In the U.S., bankruptcy pauses lawsuits against a filer while a plan to repay creditors is sorted out. Judge Barry Ostrager of New York state court said Guo has racked up fines of $500,000 a day over 268 days for moving and keeping a yacht, the Lady May, outside the court’s jurisdiction in violation of a prior order. Ostrager told Guo to pay the sum in five business days. The Lady May made news in 2020 when Bannon, a partner in a media venture with Guo, was arrested on unrelated federal charges while on board. The yacht was purchased for 28 million British pounds in 2015 ($38 million today).
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