China’s anti-corruption watchdog involved in probe of Jack Ma’s Ant – Bloomberg News

(Reuters) – The Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog was among the agencies involved in a recent inquiry into links between billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group and state-owned Chinese companies, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) was seeking to understand the influence of Ma’s fintech empire and the extent of its transactions with state banks and enterprises, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

Ant did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, while CCDI could not be immediately reached.

An affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, Ant has been subjected to a sweeping restructuring by China, which derailed its $37 billion initial public offering in late 2020.

Bloomberg reported the anti-corruption watchdog was involved in queries sent to state firms in February about their exposure to Ant, as part of its investigation of former Communist Party Secretary of the technology hub of Hangzhou, Zhou Jiangyong, who was later expelled from the party.

The Financial Times reported in January that Hangzhou-based Ant was connected to the corruption case involving Zhou Jiangyong.

(Reporting by Shivam Patel in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)