Senior NetEase Officials Arrested Amid Allegations of Financial Misconduct

Reports indicate that nine employees of NetEase have been taken into custody on suspicion of money laundering and bribery, with the alleged misconduct totaling around $139.3 million. According to a report by Bloomberg Law, the detained individuals include two high-ranking executives: General Manager Jin Yuchen and Head of Esports Xiang Liang. The alleged corruption is believed to have occurred within the company's esports and distribution and marketing divisions, as stated by Yicai Global, a Chinese news outlet. In addition to the employees, an unspecified number of external individuals connected to the corruption allegations are under investigation. NetEase has also blacklisted 27 external companies due to their ties to those implicated. Following an internal investigation, the nine employees involved have been terminated and removed from the company's systems, as confirmed by an internal memo. A spokesperson for NetEase stated that the police are investigating corruption charges but declined to provide further details at this time. This incident marks the second internal anti-corruption probe initiated by NetEase since September 2023, as noted by Eurogamer.