China's billionaire back home after arrest in US

Billionaire and JD.com founder Richard Liu Qiangdong returned to China on Monday after a brief arrest in the US for alleged sexual misconduct.

Liu, 45, was arrested on August 31, 2018 by the Minneapolis police for alleged sexual misconduct and released the following afternoon.

He has been released without any charges, and without requirement for bail. Liu has returned to work in China, JD.com said in a statement on Monday.

China's foreign ministry said that it was looking into the circumstances surrounding the arrest of Liu.

The Chinese Consulate in Chicago was closely following the relevant situation and trying to verify facts regarding the situation, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a news conference on Monday.

Founded in 1998, JD.com is an e-commerce juggernaut in China and the main competitor to industry leader Alibaba.

Like Jack Ma, Richard Qiangdong Li made history in China with his rags to riches story.

Born into a poor farming family in northern Jiangsu province, Liu is arguably less well-known outside China unlike Jack Ma, Tencent Holdings' Pony Ma Huateng and Baidu's Robin Li Yanhong, who recently made to the cover of the Time magazine.

Liu started his business by opening a counter store in Beijing selling computer parts.

He had to shut it down in 2003 after severe acute respiratory syndrome struck China causing people to stay at home for fear of catching the deadly disease, the Hong Kong based South China Morning Post reported.

Earlier in a statement posted to Chinese social media network Weibo, JD.com described the allegations on its founder as false.