On July 24th, Shanghai police reported a case involving former logistics director of the well-known Chinese internet company Ele.me, Han Liu, who briefly served as CEO under the pseudonym “Hao Chen.” He has been taken into custody on suspicion of bribery of non-state employees, with details of his arrest now being disclosed. Several other individuals involved in the case have also been arrested. In less than two years, Han Liu and three others collectively accepted bribes totaling over 40 million Chinese yuan (RMB) from suppliers, shocking the industry.
During his tenure as the logistics distribution manager at Ele.me from July 2023, Han Liu colluded with two other associates, abusing their authority in activities such as supplier admission, expulsion, evaluation, and subsidy distribution. They helped multiple logistics suppliers obtain delivery qualifications in dozens of major cities, using this as leverage to extort substantial bribes from suppliers like Liu and four others.
Han Liu and his accomplices even demanded profit-sharing from suppliers based on their operational profits. In less than two years, the trio received bribes over 30 times, accumulating a total amount exceeding 40 million yuan.
Public records indicate that Han Liu, a senior executive of the post-80s generation, previously worked at Jingdong Mall and Jingdong Logistics. He joined Alibaba Group in 2019 under the pseudonym “Hao Chen,” holding significant positions such as senior vice president at Ele.me, head of instant retail business, and CEO of Fengniao Delivery among others.
In March 2024, Han Liu was promoted from head of Fengniao Delivery to CEO of Ele.me, reaching the pinnacle of his career. However, within a year, by February 2025, Ele.me Chairman Wu Zeming announced through a company-wide staff message that he would assume the CEO position concurrently, while Han Liu was reassigned to focus on managing the instant logistics center under his supervision.
The methods employed by Han Liu and his associates in accumulating wealth were highly clandestine. They frequently accepted lavish banquets from suppliers, receiving significant financial assets amidst the revelry, and then dispersed the illicit gains in multiple rented residences in an attempt to evade detection.
The motivations and needs of the bribing suppliers varied. Han Liu and his cohort reciprocated gestures, utilizing their power to skew business resources towards those involved in bribery, providing them with business advantages beyond the platform’s standard operating rules, thus facilitating their financial gains.
On June 20th, 2025, rumors circulated in the market about Han Liu, the logistics head of Ele.me, being taken in for investigation by the authorities. Ele.me promptly responded at the time, stating that following an internal investigation, they found Han Liu involved in criminal activities related to his position and had proactively reported the case.
Currently, all seven suspects in the case have been subjected to coercive measures by the authorities.