On December 16, former Senior Vice President Yu Hong of 360 Technology Group Limited (referred to as “360”) publicly accused the company’s gaming business of “falsifying accounts by billions” on a social media platform, claiming to have evidence of financial fraud. That night, 360 urgently issued a clarification statement denying the allegations of financial fraud.
A series of screenshots of Yu Hong’s accusations against 360 Group founder Zhou Hongyi circulated on social media platforms on December 16, sparking widespread attention. In the screenshots, Yu Hong publicly claimed in multiple WeChat groups and personal circles: “I helped Zhou Hongyi falsify accounts by at least billions, I have data, I will make it public across the internet, all his games have financial fraud.” Yu Hong also emphasized that his account had not been hacked.
In the screenshots, Yu Hong accused, “Helping Zhou Hongyi falsify gaming revenues amounts to at least billions.” He specifically mentioned “self-recharge,” implying that the company artificially inflated its revenue through false recharges. Yu Hong repeatedly claimed to have “data” and stated that he would “make it public across the internet.” He expressed personal discontent in the text, stating that he had been “badly deceived.”
According to a report by “Jinan Times” and “New Yellow River,” it was confirmed by a group member that Yu Hong did indeed make the aforementioned statements in relevant social groups. The comment section of this video saw a large number of investors leaving messages. Several users posted screenshots of Yu Hong’s revelations, demanding that Zhou Hongyi “explain.”
It was reported that the whistleblower Yu Hong has a close relationship with 360. In 2014, 360 completed the acquisition of Quyou Group. Yu Hong, as the founder and former chairman of Quyou, joined 360 after the transaction as Senior Vice President. In 2015, Yu Hong resigned for personal reasons.
During his tenure, Yu Hong was fully responsible for the company’s gaming business, co-leading the sector with Chen Jie, and participated in the incubation of key projects such as Huajiao Live Broadcast. He also played a coordinating role in the Sogou acquisition case. In 2018, Yu Hong gained some notoriety in the blockchain and Web3 fields by initiating the “3 AM Sleepless Blockchain” community.
Public records show that Yu Hong was one of the early pioneers in China’s browser game sector and a core initiator of the well-known cryptocurrency community “3 AM.” In 2008, he founded Quyou Technology, quickly rising to prominence with hit games like “Xianyu” and “Ao Jian.” In 2011, Quyou Technology’s revenue exceeded 600 million yuan, peaking at preparations for a Nasdaq listing, but ultimately abandoning the independent listing plan.
According to reports by “Daily Economic News” and “International Financial News,” on the evening of December 16, 360 released a clarification announcement regarding the allegations. The announcement acknowledged that Yu Hong had served as the head of GameWave Gaming Company. It emphasized that since its listing, the confirmation of gaming revenue in the business has complied with corporate accounting standards, denying any financial fraud.
360 Group founder and CEO Zhou Hongyi also issued a statement on his personal Weibo, stating that Yu Hong’s allegations of “financial fraud” were completely contrary to the facts.
According to public information, 360 Group is a Chinese Internet company founded by Zhou Hongyi in 2005. The company’s products include 360 Security Guard, 360 Antivirus, and other businesses.
As disclosed by “First Financial,” the main entity listed by 360 is 360 Technology Co., Ltd., with over 40 shareholders, including financial institutions and corporate giants.
In May 2020, the U.S. Department of Commerce placed 360 and 23 other entities on the U.S. Entity List under the Export Control Regulations. The U.S. believes that this technology contributes to the Chinese Communist Party’s military plans and aids in human rights violations. Since then, the company’s performance has continued to decline.
In terms of financial performance, 360 Group has been under significant pressure in recent years.
According to the 2024 annual report and the first-quarter report of 2025 released by 360, the company’s total revenue in 2024 was 7.948 billion yuan, a 12.23% year-on-year decrease. The net loss attributable to the owner of the parent company reached 1.094 billion yuan, with a further increase compared to the previous year’s 492 million yuan net loss.
At the same time, the company recorded a net loss of 273 million yuan in the first quarter of 2025, an exacerbation from the 110 million yuan loss in the same period last year.
Since 2022 when 360 first reported an annual loss, the company has accumulated a total loss of 4 billion yuan over the past three years.
According to the 2024 annual report, 360 Group’s main businesses cover internet advertising and services, smart hardware, internet value-added services including the gaming sector, and security and other businesses. Among these, internet advertising and services accounted for over half of the total revenue in 2024 at 4.166 billion yuan, a 7.85% decrease year-on-year.
Internet value-added services became the only business segment of 360 to achieve revenue growth, with a total income of 1.379 billion yuan in 2024, a 25.51% year-on-year increase. However, within this sector, the gaming business revenue was 893 million yuan, a decline of approximately 7.1% compared to 970 million yuan in 2023.
Currently, 360’s gaming revenue still heavily relies on PC-based and agency-operated single-player products. Since successfully obtaining the rights to operate “World of Tanks” and “World of Warships” in 2020, these two products have continuously contributed stable revenue to the company. However, in the mobile segment, with 360’s influence in the Android distribution sector gradually waning, despite its attempts to “return” to the mobile gaming market through self-developed and publishing businesses, the results have been minimal.
On October 30, 360’s self-developed spiritual girl development mobile game “Temporal Journey” announced that it would cease operations on December 31, 2025. The game was officially launched on July 15, 2025, only to be removed from the shelves three months later.
Affected by the news of the former senior executive’s accusations, 360’s stock price fell by 5.07% at the close on December 16.