(Yicai) Nov. 8 -- NetEase issued an internal notice today following rumors of an anti-graft investigation, saying that several former senior staff members are suspected of corruption and fraud during their time at the Chinese gaming giant and have been charged by the public security authorities.

The high-ranking employees include Xiang Lang, former chief of NetEase’s esports division, and Jin Yuchen, ex-head of NetEase Games’ distribution and marketing center, the Hangzhou-based company said in the notice.

NetEase revealed that the alleged corruption mainly took place in the esports division and the distribution and marketing center of NetEase Games. A number of external individuals are also implicated. The firm also said it has blacklisted 27 companies linked with the fraud and corruption.

A spokesperson for NetEase had said on social media earlier today that details of the case could not be disclosed because it is still under investigation, and the company would release a notice in due course.

The person said NetEase’s anti-corruption drive has never ceased, denying rumors of money laundering. They are completely false, the person noted.

A screenshot of a chat record concerning NetEase’s crackdown on graft circulated online yesterday. It indicated that several senior marketing executives, including the general manager of NetEase's games marketing department, had been taken away for questioning, with about CNY2 billion (USD280 million) allegedly involved.

On the same day, one person named in the list denied the rumors, saying that they had not been taken away.

Since the start of this year, leading Chinese internet firms such as Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok owned by ByteDance, Tencent Holdings, and Meituan have issued anti-fraud notices, with hundreds of employees being fired and many of those suspected of crimes being handed over to authorities.

Tencent looked into more than 70 corruption cases last year, involving the dismissal of over 120 employees and the transfer of about 20 people to the public security authorities for suspected crimes.

At the beginning of this year, well-known game developer Lilith Games also announced that a former executive had been detained on suspicion of embezzlement. During questioning, the executive admitted to engaging in significant financial dealings with suppliers while at the Shanghai-based company.

Editors: Shi Yi, Tom Litting