Employees of NetEase have allegedly laundered $139.3 Million in a trading scheme involving nearly 30 companies

Bloomberg and Leifeng, a Chinese publication, reported late last week that several NetEase staffers had been arrested on charges of money laundering and bribery. The company is developing Marvel Rivals, a competitor to Overwatch 2, and Destiny: Rising, a mobile game.

Leifeng (via Game Developer), alleges that NetEase Games’ general manager in charge for marketing and former director of NetEase’s esports department, Xiang Lang has been taken by the company’s internal anticorruption department to be investigated. According to reports, other employees who worked under Lang are also under investigation for buying traffic to promote NetEase’s top products. NetEase's only confirmation to Bloomberg is that the police are investigating possible corruption.

A second Chinese outlet, yicaiglobal has reported that the former head of NetEase Games’ distribution and marketing centre, Jin Yuchen is also under investigation. The outlet claims that in addition to NetEase staff, 27 unnamed companies were also blacklisted for their involvement with the laundering scheme.

Some estimates have been made about how much money employees are alleged to have laundered. Some reports suggest that up to 2 billion dollars ($277.8 millions) was laundered, but Game Developer says the real price is likely closer 800 million to 1 million yuan (between $111.4 million and $139.3million).

We saw a similar case earlier this year with Yuji Naka. He was fined $1.2M and given a suspended prison sentence for insider dealing. Naka was arrested for the first time in 2022, while still working at Square Enix. The main accusation was he purchased shares in Aiming Inc. with the knowledge that Square Enix would collaborate with the studio to create Dragon Quest Tactics - a mobile game. Naka was accused of purchasing ATeam shares before the company began working on a Final Fantasy 7 Mobile Game.

There's been no indication yet that any further action will be taken against the individuals concerned. A Eurogamer article reported that nine employees had been fired for alleged bribery. The names of the individuals involved have since been removed from NetEase’s internal systems. Company computer screensavers were changed to remind employees of NetEase’s compliance protocols.