The ex-head of NetEase’s esports division and NetEase Games’ former general manager are said to have been arrested on money laundering and bribery charges. Alongside ex-executives Xiang Liang and Jin Yuchen, several other people who worked at the company were reportedly arrested over alleged corruption.
As noted by , Chinese outlet reported that the former employees in question allegedly laundered in the region of 800 million to 1 billion yuan ($111 million to $139 million). NetEase confirmed to only that police were investigating possible corruption. The company is said to have dismissed nine staff members for alleged bribery.
Several external individuals were also implicated, according to . The outlet noted that, per an internal memo, NetEase will refuse to do business with 27 companies that have been connected to the alleged fraud and corruption.
NetEase is behind the likes of and Naraka: Bladepoint (the latter of which averages more than 109,000 players on Steam at any given time). It has two free-to-play shooters on the way based on major franchises, namely and .
White collar crimes aren’t quite a rarity in the games industry. Sonic the Hedgehog co-creator Yuji Naka was last year and ordered to pay just over $1.1 million after admitting to insider trading.
Trending Products
Thermaltake V250 Motherboard Sync ARGB ATX Mid-Tower Chassis with 3 120mm 5V Addressable RGB Fan + 1 Black 120mm Rear Fan Pre-Installed CA-1Q5-00M1WN-00
Sceptre Curved 24-inch Gaming Monitor 1080p R1500 98% sRGB HDMI x2 VGA Construct-in Audio system, VESA Wall Mount Machine Black (C248W-1920RN Sequence)
HP 27h Full HD Monitor – Diagonal – IPS Panel & 75Hz Refresh Rate – Smooth Screen – 3-Sided Micro-Edge Bezel – 100mm Height/Tilt Adjust – Built-in Dual Speakers – for Hybrid Workers,Black
Wi-fi Keyboard and Mouse Combo – Full-Sized Ergonomic Keyboard with Wrist Relaxation, Telephone Holder, Sleep Mode, Silent 2.4GHz Cordless Keyboard Mouse Combo for Laptop, Laptop computer, PC, Mac, Home windows -Trueque
