A Chinese financier, founder and first head of Skycus Capital investment company, Lyu Tianjian, is under investigation for corruption, reports the Financial Times.
Lyu Tianjian's father is Lyu He, a former vice premier described as China's "economic king." According to FT, he was a trusted representative of President Xi Jinping and conducted trade negotiations with the US administration during Donald Trump's first presidential term.
According to one source, Lyu Tianjian has been detained. Two other sources said the investigation has been ongoing for at least six months. The case is related to the plans of Ant Group, founded by Jack Ma, to conduct a $37 billion IPO. The IPO process was canceled in 2020 on Xi Jinping's orders.
The publication states that during the investigation, officials identified "unrelated corruption cases" and reported this to the state leader.
Lyu Tianjian left the chairmanship of Skycus in 2017, six months before his father joined the 25-member Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China. Later, Lyu He was appointed as vice premier and began overseeing the financial sector. FT's sources close to Skycus revealed that in 2021, young Lyu continued to participate in company deals.
Skycus has been collaborating with technology giants like Tencent and JD.com in China.
Anti-corruption investigations in the country intensified after Xi Jinping was re-elected as chairman of the People's Republic of China in the spring of 2023. In 2024, 889,000 officials were held accountable. Additionally, over 80 company leaders related to stock exchanges were detained.
Photo: Global Look Press
