Tencent fired over 100 workers, including some within its video game division, for offenses including suspected bribery and embezzlement in 2022.
As reported by Reuters, the Chinese tech company said those incidents span over 70 cases across businesses such as live-streaming, advertising, and video games.
Tencent, which is one of the largest game publishers in China, said it has also reported over 10 people to law enforcement.
In a statement published on Tencent-owned social network, WeChat, the company indicated that internal corruption is on the rise.
“There is an increase in the number of cases and people involved this year as compared with 2021,” wrote Tencent. “Tencent’s anti-cheating investigation department has taken stronger measures against these internal issues such as corruption and cheating.”
As noted by Reuters, the statement was made around a month after Tencent founder Pony Ma said the company has serious corruption issues at a townhall meeting.
That’s evidenced by the fact Tencent said one of those workers suspected of corruption accepted a bribe from another company and has now been sentenced to three years in prison. Three other cases have also resulted in prison sentences.
Tencent is currently attempting to expand its video game operations on a global scale, and last year made a number of notable investments in overseas companies such as Ubisoft shareholder Guillemot Brothers Limited and Elden Ring developer FromSoftware.