Tencent fires 70 people and blacklists 13 firms in anti-fraud campaign 

Chinese internet giant Tencent fired 70 people and blacklisted 13 firms last year as part of an anti-graft campaign.

Tencent will no longer work with the blacklisted companies and a few of the people who were dismissed have been reported to public security authorities, according to the company.

The gaming and social media company said that cases involved bribery and embezzlement.

Tencent has been reporting on the results of its internal probes since 2019. But the latest report comes after a year of tightening regulation on China’s technology sector and as Beijing scrutinizes the practices of the country’s internet titans.

Over the last year, Beijing has introduced new laws in areas from data protection to anti-monopoly.

China’s technology firms have looked to take a proactive approach to preempt regulators and stamp down any practices the authorities may not like.

One case involved an employee at Tencent’s digital music department using his position to ask for benefits from suppliers.

In another case, a former employee who worked on film and television content took possession of props and clothes that were purchased by Tencent for filming.

Tencent shares, which are listed in Hong Kong, fell on Tuesday amid a broader slump in Asian markets.