NetEase executives arrested for suspected money laundering and bribery

Nine NetEase employees were reportedly arrested on money laundering and bribery charges involving an estimated $139.3 million.

As Bloomberg Law reports, those allegedly arrested included two senior executives: general manager Jin Yuchen and head of e-sports department Xiang Liang.

According to Chinese news site Yicai Global, the alleged corruption occurred in the areas of e-sports and sales and marketing.

An unknown number of external individuals connected to the anti-corruption allegations are also under investigation. NetEase added that 27 outside companies were blacklisted due to links to the behavior of those arrested.

According to an internal memo, the nine employees involved have since been fired by NetEase and are no longer listed in the company's systems.

A NetEase spokesperson told Eurogamer that police are “investigating allegations of corruption but do not wish to provide further details at this time.”

As Eurogamer noted, this is reportedly the second internal anti-corruption investigation that NetEase has launched since September 2023.