DouYu founder and chief executive officer Chen Shaojie has not been seen since October and industry insiders believe it is related to suspected gambling during a livestream on the platform, The Paper, a government-run outlet based in Shanghai, reported yesterday.

DouYu is backed by Chinese tech giant Tencent and is US-listed with a market capitalisation of US$268 million. A representative did not provide details when asked by AFP today about Chen’s whereabouts.

“DouYu’s business operations remain normal,” they said.

The Chengdu-based Cover News also reported that Chen’s colleagues were not aware of his whereabouts and were unable to get in contact with him.

There has been no official confirmation of Chen’s detention but lengthy disappearances by senior executives in China are often followed by announcements that they are under investigation.

Bao Fan, the billionaire chairman and executive director of investment bank China Renaissance, went missing this year and was later revealed to be “cooperating” in an official investigation.

Livestreaming is a multi-million dollar phenomenon in China, generating huge profits for e-commerce giants and popular influencers alike.

However, Beijing has sought to crack down on perceived immoral content within the booming industry, launching probes into several top social media platforms and targeting prominent influencers.

Authorities conducted a sweeping investigation into DouYu in May over concerns about pornography and other “vulgar” content.

Several of China’s leading financiers and businessmen have fallen from grace in recent years, with an intense crackdown on alleged corruption pushed by President Xi Jinping showing no sign of abating.

The former chairman of China’s state-owned banking giant Everbright Group, Li Xiaopeng, was arrested last month on charges of taking bribes.

And in September, the former chairman and Chinese Communist Party chief of China Life Insurance, Wang Bin, was sentenced to life in prison for corruption.