(Yicai) Nov. 28 -- Shares of Douyu International Holdings fell after the Chinese game-centric livestreaming site said it had formed an interim management committee following the arrest of its founder, chairman, and chief executive officer by Chengdu police on suspicion of opening a casino.

Douyu [NASDAQ: DOYU] closed 9 percent down at 81 US cents in New York yesterday. The stock has fallen nearly 16 percent since the company announced the arrest of its boss and over 42 percent since the beginning of the year.

The interim management committee, which was formally established on Nov. 24, consists of Su Mingming, director and chief strategy officer of Douyu, Cao Hao, director and vice president of the firm, and VP Ren Simin, Wuhan-based Douyu announced yesterday.

The board of directors believes Douyu will continue operating as normal under the leadership of the interim management committee, the firm added.

Douyu was informed on Nov. 20 that Chen Shaojie was arrested by Chengdu police on or around Nov. 16, the company announced on Nov. 21. Douyu did not receive any official notice by police of the investigation against Chen or the reason for his arrest, it added.

On Nov. 22, the police bureau in Chengdu, China’s southwestern Sichuan province, said in a statement that it had investigated and found that Chen was suspected of opening a casino and was arrested in accordance with the law.

Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings was Douyu’s largest shareholder with a 37.7 percent stake as of March 31, according to a statement the livestreaming firm released in April. Chen was the second-biggest shareholder, with a 17 percent stake.

On Oct. 25, Douyu said in a statement that the closing price of its American depository shares remained below the lowest buy-in price of USD1 for the previous 30 consecutive trading days, so it will probably face delisting risks if the share price fails to return to above USD1 before April 22, next year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione