Zhao Shilan, ex-wife of former Chinese government official Qiao Jianjun, has pleaded not guilty to US charges of money laundering and immigration fraud.

Zhao entered the plea in US District Court in Los Angeles on May 18.

"We don't have a high degree of trust that the evidence is reliable and accurate because of the nature of the regime in China," Zhao's lawyer, Kirk Davis of Seattle, said in a recent interview with The New York Times.

A trial date has been set for July 14, and the case was assigned to District Judge Steven V. Wilson, according to Thom Mrozek, public affairs officer at the US attorney's office in Los Angeles.

On March 17, a federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted Zhao, 51, and Qiao, also 51, on three counts each of money laundering and immigration fraud.

They are accused of fraudulently obtaining EB-5 immigrant-investor visas to enter the United States and of laundering money from China. Zhao was arrested at her home in Newcastle, Washington.

According to a March press release by the US attorney's office in Los Angeles, Zhao allegedly stated under oath on documents submitted to US Citizenship and Immigration Services that she had an ownership interest in the companies providing the $500,000 EB-5 minimum investment, which investigators later learned she did not.

The indictment also states the divorced couple purchased a residence in the Seattle suburb of Newcastle with laundered money related to fraudulent transactions from a grain storehouse in Zhoukou City, Henan province, China, where Qiao served as director from 1998 to 2011.

As part of the indictment, the federal government is seeking the forfeiture of property, including the house in Newcastle. The indictment also alleges that Qiao engaged in fraudulent grain transactions while serving as the grain storehouse director, and Qiao and Zhao had money transferred out of China, with approximately $500,000 being used to purchase the Newcastle property.

Qiao was once director of China's largest grain stockpile, Sinograin, and has been sought by the Chinese government since 2011 after he fled to the US on suspicion of bribery and theft of national assets. The couple then allegedly transmitted $900,000 to the US and bought properties in suburban Seattle.

Qiao is No 3 on the list of the 100 most wanted Chinese fugitives abroad. Qiao is accused of fleeing to the US after allegedly embezzling some 300 million yuan from a state granary operation.

lindadeng@chinadailyusa.com