The State’s Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced on Friday 7th March 2025 that he is taking actions to secure the $24 billion judgment against China for unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic.
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In 2020, former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s filed a lawsuit against China for obstructing the production, purchase, and export of critical medical equipment, including PPE, during the pandemic. The defendants in the lawsuit included the Chinese Government, Wuhan Institute of Virology, several Chinese ministries, provincial authorities and entities.
Missouri complaint was previously dismissed, but later referred to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and a hearing on the matter was held on January 27, 2025.
Since Chinese defendants failed to appear or otherwise answer after being properly served, and was therefore in default, the court “accepted as true the plaintiffs’ uncontroverted evidence”.
Judge STEPHEN N. LIMBAUGH, JR. came to a judgment dated 7th Mar 2025 against the Chinese defendants, jointly and severally, in the amount of nearly $24,5 billion plus post judgment interest of 3.91% annually.
The damages were calculated mostly based on direct harm Missouri from lost tax revenue caused by China’s hoarding of PPE, and the heightened PPE expenditures paid by Missouri during the epidemic.
“China refused to show up to court, but that doesn’t mean they get away with causing untold suffering and economic devastation. We intend to collect every penny by seizing Chinese-owned assets, including Missouri farmland. […] If necessary, will work with the Trump Administration to identify and seize Chinese-owned assets”, stated Bailey.
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