Recently, two regional general managers of Xiaomi’s international business department were dismissed for allegedly fabricating outsourcing business and soliciting bribes, and have had their stock options confiscated, and are required to compensate for the company’s losses.
According to a report by The Paper on June 16, Xiaomi mentioned in an internal notification that the former general manager of the Western Europe region of Xiaomi Group’s international business department, Mr. Ou, was suspected of fabricating outsourcing business involving a huge amount of money. He has been dismissed by Xiaomi and criminal and civil rights protection procedures have been initiated.
The former general manager of the Latin American region of Xiaomi’s international business department, Mr. Chen, was dismissed for allegedly soliciting large bribes from partners, accepting valuable gifts, and receiving luxurious entertainment. His stock options were confiscated, and he is required to compensate for the company’s losses.
In September 2019, Xiaomi appointed Mr. Ou as the general manager of the Western Europe region and Mr. Chen Xu was appointed as the general manager of the Eastern Europe region, later to be transferred to the general manager position in the Latin American region.
In May 2022, Xiaomi announced a global imaging strategic cooperation with Leica. Lei Jun, the chairman of Xiaomi Group, stated that he had entrusted Mr. Ou to lead the Xiaomi headquarters and a team of imaging experts in Europe to visit Leica’s headquarters in Leica Park, Germany.
The report mentioned that regarding the related notifications, journalists sought confirmation from Xiaomi, but as of the time of reporting, there has been no response.
Europe and Latin America are both important overseas markets for Xiaomi. According to data from the market research company Canalys, in the first quarter of this year, Xiaomi achieved a significant year-on-year increase in smartphone market share in the Middle East, Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Among them, the shipment volume in Latin America ranked third, with a 2.0 percentage point increase in market share to 15.3%.
According to the latest financial report released by Xiaomi Group, the total revenue in the first quarter was 75.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 27.0%. The adjusted net profit was 6.5 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 100.8%, including 2.3 billion yuan in expenses for innovative businesses such as smart electric vehicles.
In recent years, corruption in the internet industry has been a focus of external attention.
According to previous reports, in 2010, Alibaba’s subsidiary cleared more than a thousand ‘Chinese supplier’ customers suspected of fraud, and two executives of the company resigned as a result.
Alibaba, JD.com, Huawei, and other companies have also been exposed for serious internal corruption issues.
At the end of 2022, Pony Ma mentioned in an internal speech that the corruption problem within Tencent is “alarming”, many businesses were unable to operate, the corruption loopholes were too large, and the business was hollowed out.
On February 2, Tencent announced that in 2023, more than 70 cases violating the “Tencent Bottom Line” were discovered and dealt with, over 120 people were dismissed for violating the “Tencent Bottom Line”, and nearly 20 individuals were transferred to public security authorities for suspected crimes. The “Tencent Bottom Line” refers to the behavior boundary that Tencent’s employees cannot violate. Once violated, they are all dismissed.
On February 5, Meituan announced that in 2023, a total of 93 internal and external personnel suspected of crimes were assisted in being investigated and prosecuted by the public security authorities throughout the year.
On March 29, Douyin Group issued a notification that in 2023, a total of 177 cases of cheating and other violations were handled by Douyin Group, with 136 people being dismissed for violating the integrity red line and 23 individuals transferred to judicial authorities for suspected criminal activities.
On April 28, Bytedance issued an internal anti-corruption notification, and 61 employees suspected of violating laws and disciplines were all dismissed. Among them, 4 individuals were involved in criminal activities and were prosecuted.
On May 16, Honor Terminal Co., Ltd. issued an internal notification, and President Deng Bin of the R&D management department of Honor was removed for violating the Business Conduct Guideline, but the specific reasons have not been disclosed.
It is reported that Deng Bin is the “leader” of the R&D department of Honor, managing product development for Honor.
According to Tianyancha information, Deng Bin currently serves as the legal representative of Shanghai Honor Smart Technology Development Co., Ltd., and also serves as the chairman of Shanghai Honor Smart Technology Development Co., Ltd.