Tencent says its anti-graft campaign investigated 50 cases of bribery and embezzlement last year

Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings said it fired nearly 70 employees last year for behaviour that included accepting bribes and offering fake online internships for money, as the company continued its internal anti-graft campaign.

The company’s anti-graft department investigated over 50 cases involving bribery and embezzlement in 2021, referring at least 10 of those to police for suspected criminal offences, Tencent said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that its actions showed its “zero tolerance” for such activities.

In addition to the individuals, the Shenzhen-based company blacklisted 13 outside companies from future cooperation.

In its statement, Tencent provided details on 16 cases, including five in which the fired employees were found to have offered “fake” online internship opportunities, receiving money paid by candidates through recruitment agencies. These employees were fired, blacklisted for life by Tencent, and reported to public security authorities.

Some of the cases involved taking bribes from suppliers, including a former employee in Tencent’s music business who asked for and received money from a supplier, according to the statement. In another case, a team leader involved in sports content illegally sought personal profits by working with an outside company the employee controlled.

At least one of the 16 cases was reported by local media at the time. China Business News revealed last October that Zhang Meng, a TV and film producer at Tencent, was under police investigation.

Tencent said in its statement on Tuesday that Zhang was found to be taking bribes from suppliers, and was reported to police for further investigation. The police have yet to release results of the investigation and there has been no public report about Zhang being officially charged.